The Malchior Widow
by beautifulpurpleflame
Summary: AU.  Gar Logan is finally out of college and has moved into his favorite city and his first night out with his friends proves to be one he'll never forget when he meets The Malchior Widow.  BBxRae  Rated M for language and Adult Situations.
1. The Malchior Widow

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 1: The Malchior Widow

The night air was full of life and excitement. Friday nights in Jump City could do that. Gar had always loved visiting the city and even though he was living there now he still loved the energy the evening air could give off.

He wasn't a tall man, but he wasn't all that short. He was medium, in between each extreme. He had a thin, lean body thanks to his vegetarian diet and wasn't afraid to boast about his charming good looks. He had sandy blond hair that was between being long and short, allowing him to spike it up. He had also frosted the tips green, since it was his favorite color. It was also the color of his eyes that held a spark of excitement, impulsiveness, and inviting warmth.

Mr. Garfield Logan, that being his full name, had just graduated college with a degree in zoology and had been hired at the Jump City Zoo as a tour guide. He had moved in with his best friend Vic Stone three days earlier.

Vic owned his own auto shop, the best in the city in fact, and was Gar's friend since college. He had graduated two years before since he was two years older. He, unlike Gar, was tall and built like a football player. His skin was a dark chocolate and he religiously shaved his head so that it shined. Everyone loved Vic.

So, now that Gar was finally moved in, he was ready for a night on the town. He thought they were going to a nightclub, but Vic had other ideas.

"A night lounge?" asked Gar, skeptically, as he looked up at a sign that read 'The Gem Night Lounge'. "Dude, are you kidding me?"

"Hey, this is my favorite nightspot," said Vic, opening the door. "Trust me, you'll like it."

"Why can't we just go to a club or something?" whined Gar as he watched Vic enter the building. "I'm way too wired up to sit in some dank night lounge."

"Just shut up and get your ass in here," Vic sighed. Gar groaned and walked inside. How was he going to meet chicks in a lounge?

The two walked in and soft music was playing. The large room was softly lit and there was a decent amount of people inside, sitting at the tables or at the bar. Vic began leading Gar towards the bar, but suddenly the two heard their names called.

"Vic! Gar!" shouted a male's voice. The two turned and saw their buddy Dick and his girlfriend, who was also their very good friend, Kori. They were sitting at a table and already had drinks

"Whoa, didn't know you two were gonna be here," Vic laughed as he and Gar made their way over to the table.

Dick and Kori were also friends from college. They had all planned on moving to Jump City after graduating, and here they were. Richard Grayson was a detective in training and Kori had graduated with a degree in English, which was her second language. Dick had black hair and sky blue eyes, which he usually kept concealed behind dark sunglass, and was a few inches taller than Gar, but still shorter than Vic. Kori had deep, red hair and bright green eyes that sparkled when she smiled. And Kori Anders was never seen without a smile. She, too, was taller than Gar.

"It is most wonderful to see you friends," said Kori with a large smile.

"I can't believe you got Gar to come in here," said Dick.

"He's not happy, but I told him he'd like it," said Vic, sitting down.

"Yeah, this place is _so_ much better than a nightclub," said Gar sarcastically, sitting down as well.

"You've been in here less than three minutes!" said Vic. "Give it a chance."

"Whatever," said Gar, looking for whomever it was who took drink orders in this place.

Gar and Vic ordered drinks and the group of friends began to catch up. Gar was a year younger than Dick and Kori, so he'd been the last to graduate. He'd seen them whenever he came to visit Vic, but he had still missed them terribly. Plus, he missed making fun of the couple who had only become a couple their senior year of college.

"So, do we get free admission to the zoo now that you work there?" Vic teased.

"Oh, that would be most wonderful!" said Kori, clasping her hands. "I enjoy going to the zoo very much."

"I'll see what I can do, but I haven't even started working there yet," said Gar, taking a sip of his beer.

"When's your first day?" asked Dick.

"Tomorrow," said Gar.

"And you're out drinking?!" said Dick. "You better not over due it and you better show up on time tomorrow."

"Dude, chill," Gar laughed. "I was joking. My first day's Monday. Like they would really have me start on a Friday."

"Oh… well, that's true," said Dick.

"I still can't believe our little Garfield got himself a job," said Vic, ruffling Gar's hair.

"Why's that unbelievable?" asked Gar, slapping his hand away and fixing his hair.

"Maybe because you didn't have a single job all through college?" said Dick.

"And you yourself said that you do not like to work," said Kori.

"I meant I don't like to work when it's boring and has nothing to do with what I love," said Gar. "I love animals, I have a job in animals, and therefore, I want to work."

"Did he just do some sort of equation?" asked Dick to Vic.

"I think he did," said Vic.

"Shut up," said Gar, sipping his drink again and looking around the room. And then, his eyes caught sight of her. He actually did a double take. And when he was sure his eyes weren't failing him he felt his heart jump and his breath catch in his throat. In all his years, not that there were that many, he had never seen such a creature of beauty.

Her skin was as pale as the moon on a clear winter night. Her long hair was as black as the midnight sky and reflected blue in the light. Her eyes were dark blue and the sparkle of the lights in the lounge made it look as if the night sky was residing right beneath her long, dark lashes. She wore a long sleeved, tight fitting turtleneck with a long, black skirt that hung loosely around her crossed legs. In her hands she held a book and on the table sat a half drunk glass of soda water.

"Who is that?" he asked, more to himself than anyone else, but his friends heard him.

"Another woman you'll only know in your dreams," Vic chuckled, putting an arm around his friend, startling from his thoughts.

"Dude, isn't she beautiful?" asked Gar. "I gotta find out who she is."

"Well, that, Gar, is The Malchior Widow," said Dick.

"Who?" asked Gar, confused. His three friends stared at him with shock.

"You have not heard of The Malchior Widow?" asked Kori.

"No," said Gar. "Should I have?"

"Her story was only in all of the papers and on the news all over the country!" said Dick.

"What? When?" asked Gar.

"A little over a year ago," said Vic. "Man, I can't believe you don't remember."

"Hey, unless something's happening right in front of me, I don't pay attention to the news," said Gar. "You guys know that."

"I suppose we shall have to tell friend Garfield her story," said Kori.

"Yes, please," said Gar. "I gotta know."

"Alright," said Dick. "But let's keep our voices down. I mean, she's right over there."

"Well, her name's Raven Roth," said Cyborg. "Her father was crime lord Trigon Roth and _please_ tell me you at least know who that is."

"I'm not _that_ out of the loop," said Gar. "Whoa, so she's his daughter?"

"Yup," said Vic. "So, like, two years ago he arranged for her to marry this guy Malchior Draco, who was workin for him."

"She was married?" said Gar, shocked.

"Well if she's a widow, she was obviously married, Gar," said Dick.

"Anyway, yeah, she married this guy Malchior," said Vic.

"What kind of a name is Malchior?" Gar scoffed.

"Would ya shut up and let me tell the story?" said a frustrated Vic. "Okay, so like a year after they were married it turned out Malchior'd been secretly workin for Trigon Roth's rival and givin all of the crime lord's information away."

"And Trigon killed him, right?" said Gar, predicting the end.

"Yeah, but it wasn't as simple as you think," said Dick. "Trigon and his assassins broke into Malchior and Ravens home and tried to do it while they were sleeping. Somehow, Malchior woke up, grabbed his gun, and began shooting. He killed the assassins hiding in the house, but before he could get Trigon, he was shot several times. Raven attempted to stop her father from killing him, but he pushed her down the stairs in the scuffle."

"Well, that sucks," said Gar.

"You don't know the half of it," said Vic.

"She was five months with child," said Kori.

"And after Trigon pushed her down the stairs Malchior got a good shot and hit Trigon right in the head," said Dick. "By the time the police got there, everyone in the house was dead but her, who was at the bottom of the stairs going into premature labor."

"Poor thing," said Vic, shaking his head.

"Her baby died two days after its early birth," said Kori. "I heard it was a little boy."

"And when did this all happen?" asked Gar.

"A year ago," said Dick.

"And how do you guys know that's her?" he asked, indicating to the young woman a few tables away from them.

"Cuz we asked the bartender one night," said Vic. "Evidently she's here every night."

"She simply sits and reads quietly," said Kori. "I have long wanted to go up to her and ask to be friends."

"Why haven't you?" asked Gar.

"Because she's cold, quiet, and from what I've heard has a sharp tongue," said Dick. "But, we've never actually heard her say a word. She sits down and is automatically brought her usual drink."

Gar thought for a moment then smiled. "Well, I'm gonna go talk to her," he said and with that stood up.

"Gar don't!" said Vic, grabbing his friend by the arm.

"Why not?" asked Gar.

"Trust me, she ain't your type," said Vic with a slight chuckle.

"Besides, you don't want to get involved with a girl like her, Gar," said Dick. "She's got baggage. She's seen traumatic things all her life and what happened a year ago is probably still fresh in her mind.

"I don't care," said Gar. "I've got to at least introduce myself to her. I mean, what if we're soul mates?!" And with that he headed over to the young woman known as Raven Roth.

It was clear to his three friends that he was smitten. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Gar had just come out of a bad relationship himself and the last thing he needed was for his heart to be broken all over again by a damaged young woman who's troubles ran deep. But Gar always seemed attracted to girls who were hard to get. And it would take a lot to convince him to give up on this exceptional woman.

He walked up to her table and waited for her to acknowledge his presence. Such acknowledgment never came. Three minutes passed and the only movement she made was to turn a page in her book. He felt his heart racing and he wondered if she even knew he was there. He cleared his throat, to make sure she knew. Finally, he decided to just speak.

"Hey, uh, I was with my friends and I saw you sitting here all alone," he said, rather nervously, but doing his best to play it cool. "And I was wondering if I could join you. Would that be okay?"

The young woman lifted her hand and from her pocket took out a small bell. She gave it a good jingle and then put it back in her pocket. Gar watched this, a bit confused. Within thirty seconds the bartender was at her table, escorting Gar back over to his.

"Sorry, sir, but the lady doesn't like to be disturbed," said the bartender.

"I wasn't disturbing her," said Gar as he was hauled off. "I just wanted to introduce myself to her."

"Yeah, well, she doesn't like that either," said the bartender, releasing his arm as they reached the table.

Gar felt quite embarrassed as his three friends started laughing. He looked over to the girl again and it looked as if he'd never even been there, trying to talk to her. She still sat, silently reading.

"So much for that, huh?" laughed Vic.

"Oh no, I'm not giving up yet," said Gar. "It'll take more than a bell and a bartender to keep Gar Logan down."


	2. She Speaks!

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 2: She Speaks!

"… and here is the last, but certainly not least, animal on our tour," said Gar as he led a group of school children through the last part of the zoo. "They're scientific name is Enhydra lutris, but I think you'll all recognize them as sea otters."

All of the children gathered around the large glass window that looked into the sea otter habitat. Each had their own comments.

"Oh, they're so cute!" said many of the girls.

"They look like big rats," said a few boys.

"Yeah, they do kinda look like rats," said Gar, playing along with the boys. "But, actually, sea otters are members of the weasel or mustelid family. They're the smallest of marine mammals and can live from anyway from Mexico to Alaska and even Japan…"

Once he was done educating the children on the sea otter, they were escorted out of the zoo and back to their bus. As they left they each said goodbye to him and thanked him for being so cool. All the little girls left with sweet little crushes and all of the little boys decided they wanted to work in zoos when they grew up. And thus Gar's first day of work was over.

He made his way home and couldn't wait to sit down. He'd been on his feet all day, something he wasn't exactly used to. He entered the apartment and found Vic lounging on the couch, flipping through the channels.

"Hey, man, how was work?" asked Vic.

"Good," said Gar, taking off his jacket. "But, let me tell you something, kids never shut up!"

Vic laughed and said, "Yeah, they can get pretty chatty. How many did ya have?"

"Thirty," said Gar, flopping down on the couch. "All they did was interrupt me, ask questions, scream, laugh, and a few even cried. I'm telling ya, we don't give teachers enough credit." He kicked his shoes off and relaxed into the couch.

"Man, get your stanky shoes out of my livin room!" said Vic, trying to wave the smell away from him self.

"Hey, they're not that bad," said Gar.

"They smell like vinegar and the zoo!" said Vic. "Toss 'em outside so they can air out."

Gar groaned and stood up. "Fine," he said, rolling his eyes. He picked his shoes up and went to the balcony. He tossed them out, careful not to throw them clear off so that they fell to the sidewalk below, and then decided to go to his room. At least there he wouldn't have to listen to Vic boss him around like he was a child.

He closed his door and took a look around. He still had things in boxes and it was already a mess. He had a fish tank that had eight different little fish that were named after every color; Blue, Green, White, Red, Black, Purple, Orange, and Pink. He had another tank that contained a three foot long iguana named Whiplash that Vic didn't care for all that much. Someday he was going to get at least one dog and one cat. He wanted all the animals he could have. They were his babies and he took good care of them. It was his dream to someday have a zoo of his own where he would treat the animals as they deserved to be treated.

He fed each of his pets and made sure their environments were in perfect condition. His room might have been a mess, but when it came to his pets they only got the best. Once he was sure they were all set he began putting some more stuff away, so he wouldn't trip over the boxes anymore.

He grabbed a box that was filled with picture frames and began to put them up around the room. There was one of him and Vic hanging out at a party, one of all four of them from spring break one year, a picture of him in his cap and gown at his graduation a few weeks back, and one of him and his parents when he was three and they were still alive.

He pulled the last picture out and looked at it for a moment. It was a picture of him and his ex-girlfriend holding each other at sunset. She was beautiful; supermodel skinny with long blond hair and crystal blue eyes. Her smile could light up a room and she looked like the most innocent person on earth. But she was far from that. He sighed and threw the picture in the bottom draw of his bureau.

Once he was done, or rather had done as much as his attention span would allow, he lay down on his bed. He closed his eyes and decided to rest. His first day at the zoo had been exhausting, but he'd loved it. He loved to educate people on animals, especially kids because they were so impressionable. And he loved kids. He connected with kids easily. Thus, working at the zoo was the perfect job for him.

But, as perfect as his job and his animals were, they didn't fill the void in his heart that was waiting to be filled by some special woman. Who that woman was to be, he wasn't sure. And as he thought this his thoughts went to Raven Roth, the young woman he had attempted to introduce himself to at the lounge.

"I've got to talk to her," he said to himself. "There's no way in hell I'm gonna let something that beautiful just pass me by. I mean, sure, she's had a pretty rough past, but who hasn't nowadays?" He sat up and thought for another moment. "I'm gonna go see her." He swung his legs off of his bed and went to get ready. He took a shower, threw on some decent clothes, and left a bewildered Vic all alone in their apartment.

Of course, he felt like an idiot when he had to go back to the apartment to ask Vic for directions to the lounge. And, after nearly a half an hour of Vic trying to talk Gar out of it, he gave him the directions and wished him God's speed.

Gar entered the lounge and found it to be a little slower than it had been on Friday, since it was a Monday, after all. But, sure enough, he saw her sitting at the same table she'd sat at when he'd last seen her. He felt his heart flutter and his stomach jump into his throat. He calmed himself down and made his way over to her. She sat silently with a new book safely in her hands. Once again, she made no sign that she knew of his presence.

"Hey, uh, I tried to talk to you a few nights ago, but you kinda had me escorted away by the bartender," said Gar. "Sorry if I came on too strong. My name's Gar Logan." He stuck his hand out to her and waited for her response. She made none. "I know that you don't like to be disturbed or whatever, but I don't wanna disturb you. I'd like to get to know you, if that'd be alright. I just moved to the city and it's always nice to make a new friend, ya know?"

Now he was sure she was going to take her bell out again. But, oddly, she didn't. She just continued to read and ignore him. She certainly was a peculiar creature.

"So, uh, do you come here every night?" he asked. "I'd think that'd get boring after a while. I'm more of a club man, myself. My buddy Vic was the one who brought me here the other night. Now, I'm kinda glad he did, cuz I got to see you."

"Your pathetic attempt to 'woo' me is a waste of both your and my time," she said in a monotone voice. "I suggest you move along, Mr. Logan."

She'd spoken! He'd gotten her to say something! She didn't just ring that bell of hers and have someone else kick him out. She was kicking him out herself. Not exactly what he wanted, but it was actually a step in the right direction.

"Why is it a waste of our time?" he asked, trying to keep her talking.

"Because I'm not looking for any suitors at the moment," she said, flipping a page of her book. "And, even if I was, I certainly wouldn't be seen with a man who has dyed his hair green in an attempt to attract attention to him self."

"Hey, I didn't dye my hair to get attention," he said, running his fingers through said hair. "I did it to send out a message."

"And just what message might that be?" she asked, still looking deep into the words of her book.

"That I'm one with nature," he said, with a smirk.

"You call artificially dyeing your hair green with chemicals becoming one with nature?" she asked, dryly. "I'm sorry, but I believe that qualifies as an oxymoron of sorts."

"Well, when you say it like that it does," said Gar. "But, the point is, it gets the message across."

"That it's okay to be a hypocrite?" she asked.

"No, that it's okay to love nature," said Gar. "So many people nowadays disrespect nature or act afraid of it. I mean, if you took a guy from the city and put him in the woods he'd freak out! I'm trying to get people to get back to their natural roots."

"So, you're mission in life is to change the world, is that it, Mr. Logan?" she asked.

"No, not the world," said Gar. "Just the people in it. If I can help one person, I think I'll be satisfied. A single person can change the course of human history, you know."

To this, the young woman finally lifted her eyes from her book and looked to the young man. Gar suddenly found himself looking straight into her eyes. They were deep and full of mystery. He'd never seen eyes like hers before.

"You seem to be a nice man, I'll give you that," she said. "Perhaps not the brightest, but you do seem to have some positive qualities about you. Because of this, I will not summon the bartender to come and take you away. Instead, I shall I ask you politely to leave me alone."

"What? But I thought we were, you know, connecting," said Gar.

"We had a conversation, as moronic as it was," said Raven. "The fact is, Mr. Logan, I'm not interested in what you're selling."

"The fact is, Ms. Roth, I'm not selling you anything," said Gar. "I just wanna get to know you so you won't seem so lonely."

Raven frowned and said, "And just how the hell do you know my name?"

Gar paled a bit and said, "Oh, uh, my friends told me. They said it was Raven Roth, right?"

"Yes, that is my name," she said. "And if you know my name then you know my past. I don't need your damned pity, Mr. Logan." And with that she reached into her pocket and pulled the bell out, ringing it quickly.

"I wasn't giving you pity," said Gar quickly, knowing the bartender would be there momentarily. "I've liked you before I knew your past." He realized what he said cursed himself.

"Ah ha!" said Raven. "You _were_ trying to woo me. Like I said before, I'm not looking for any suitors."

"Yea, but-," he started.

"Excuse me, sir," said the bartender. "Would you come with me, please?"

Gar sighed and allowed the bartender to lead him away from Ms. Roth, who went back to reading. She was going to be a hard nut to crack, that was for sure. But, he wasn't about to give up yet.

He made his way home and was ready for Vic to laugh at him and say, "I told ya so." Oddly, that's not what he was met with.

"Wait a second, she talked to you?" asked Vic, shocked, nearly choking on his beer.

"Yeah," said Gar, taking a sip of his. "I mean, it took a minute or two, but, yeah, we actually talked."

"Whoa," said Vic. "That's amazing. I've seen her in there like a hundred times and I ain't never seen her mutter so much as a word; not even to the bartender! Hell, I hate to admit it, but I think she may like ya, Gar."

"What? Really!" said Gar, starting to get excited.

"Well, yeah," said Vic. "Shit, man, you broke her! You got her to speak. Do you have any idea how big this is?"

"Well… I didn't, but now that I think about it, I guess it is kinda big," said Gar. "Now I definitely got a reason not to quit on her."

"Hell, yeah, you do!" said Vic. "And as long as ya don't make an ass out of yourself, you may actually have a chance with her."

"I can't believe how supportive you are," Gar chuckled. "An hour ago you told me I was just wasting my time."

"Yeah, well, that was before I knew she would actually talk to you," said Vic.

Gar smiled proudly. "I'm gonna go back tomorrow and try to talk to her again," he said.

"No, don't do that!" said Vic. "You'll look like a stalker or somethin. Naw, man, give it two or three days. Just play it slow and play it cool."

"Yeah, good idea," said Gar, thinking it over. "I don't wanna scare her away. I'll go back Thursday, I think. That should give her time to cool down and give me time to prepare myself."

"Sounds like a plan to me, man," said Vic, holding his beer bottle up and the two clinked them together.


	3. Thirsty Thursday at the Lounge

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 3: Thirsty Thursday at the Lounge

Gar couldn't wait for Thursday to come around. On Tuesday he took a group of disabled individuals on a tour of the zoo, which took up his entire day; not that he minded. And on Wednesday he took two groups of school children. He was never so happy for chaperones, or he might have lost most of them. Thursday arrived and he was giddy the whole day. That day he led a ten year old girl's birthday party around the zoo and then led them back to the animals they enjoyed the most to educate them a little more. Needless to say, they all had a good time.

As soon as he got home from work he jumped into the shower to clean the smell of the zoo off of him. Personally, he kind of liked the smell, but he knew that not many other people appreciated it. And he was pretty sure that Raven Roth wouldn't like it. She seemed to be the neat and tidy sort.

"Remember, don't smother her or you'll scare her away," said Vic. "Or rather, she'll send you away."

"Yeah, I know," said Gar as he sprayed his body with some highly priced body spray guaranteed to seduce the ladies.

"Just play it cool and try to get her friendship," said Vic. "She might not want a boyfriend, but everyone needs a friend. Once she trusts you, you can try to push for more."

"Dude, don't worry," said Gar. "I got it all worked out. I know what I'm doing."

"I sure hope so," said Vic. "I'd hate for you to screw this up."

"Trust me, I'd hate that too," said Gar.

Once he was cleaned up he headed over to the lounge. Oddly, he felt a bit confident tonight. Even if she said one word to him, it still meant more than if she remained quiet. He just had to make sure not to say anything stupid or bring up her past.

He entered the lounge and looked directly to her usual table. And, sure enough, there she sat. He smiled and headed right over to her, making sure not to walk too fast or seem too excited. Play it cool; that was the key. He walked up to her table and gave her a smile, not that she was looking at him.

"Good evening, Ms. Roth," he said politely.

"Mr. Logan, you've returned," said Raven, taking a sip of her soda water.

"Ah, so you remember me," said Gar calmly, though he was jumping with joy on the inside.

"You're the only person idiotic enough to bother me when you come here," said Raven. "How could I not remember you? Now take your leave."

"Do I have to?" asked Gar. "I'd still really like to get to know you. You know, be friends."

"I have no need for friends," she said, rather coldly. "Now off with you."

"Hey, I just got here," said Gar. "I don't wanna leave yet. I haven't even had a drink."

"Then sit down at a table, have a drink, and leave," she said plainly.

"There aren't any tables left," said Gar, looking around his room. To his luck, there really weren't any available tables. This was due to it being Thirsty Thursday.

"There's a seat left at the bar," said Raven.

He wasn't sure how she could know that, since she hadn't looked up once. He looked at the bar and, sure enough, there was one seat left. And it was right next to a rather flamboyant looking middle aged man who held his martini up to Gar and winked at him. Gar paled and quickly looked back to Raven.

"Uh, I think that seat's already taken," he said.

"No, it's vacant," said Raven.

"Oh come on!" he said in a panicked whisper, leaning down to her. "Please don't make me sit over there."

"You're not homophobic, are you?" said Raven, turning a page in her newest book.

"What? Me? Of course not," said Gar. "I would just really rather sit next to you than a guy who's gonna hit on me. Come on, you're not that cruel, are you?"

Raven looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow at him. She then looked back into the book. "Fine, take a seat since it's the only other vacant chair. But this in no way means you're sitting with me."

"Understood," he said, sitting down. He couldn't believe it; he was slowly breaking her! He waved a waitress over so he could finally get a drink.

"Hey, what can I get ya?" asked the waitress.

"I'll have a beer, please," said Gar, turning to Raven. "You want anything?"

"I already have a drink," said Raven, indicating to her soda water.

"I meant a _drink_ drink," said Gar.

"I don't drink alcoholic beverages," said Raven.

"Just a beer, then," said Gar, turning back to the waitress who took the order and went off. "Wow, so you really don't drink?"

"No," said Raven.

"Then why do you hang out in a night lounge every night?" asked Gar.

"I enjoy the atmosphere," she said, plainly.

"Huh, okay," he said, accepting her answer. "Personally, this place is a little too classy for me."

"More of a clubber, correct?" asked Raven as she turned a page in her book.

"Definitely," said Gar with a grin. "I love the night life. And the club's always so much fun."

"Why?" asked Raven. "Because you like to dance or because you like to hit on drunk girls?"

"Hey, I'm not like that," said Gar.

"What? You're not a dancer or you're not one to hit on drunk girls?" she asked.

"Both," said Gar.

"Then, please, explain why you would like to go to a club where all people do is dance and hit on each other? Unless, you mean, you don't hit on girls; you hit on guys."

"Of course I don't hit on dudes!" said Gar, quite offended. "Do I look gay to you?"

"Again, you're sounding homophobic," said Raven. "And you sound prejudice."

"I'm neither!" said Gar.

"Then tell me why you go to clubs," said Raven.

"Cuz it's fun!" said Gar. "What more of a reason do I need? I go there to catch up with friends, have a few drinks, and, yes, from time to time check out a few girls. But I certainly don't pick up drunk chicks."

"Oh, so now you're referring to women as chicks?" said Raven. "I find that to be sexist."

Gar placed his face in his hand and groaned. "No, I'm not sexist," he said through his hands. "I'm just a simple zoo tour guide trying to be friends with you."

"Zoo tour guide?" asked Raven. "You work at the zoo?"

"Yes, I do," he said, rather proudly.

"Why am I not surprised?" she scoffed.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, I actually thought you would work at some fast food restaurant," said Raven. "But zoo tour guide isn't much better. It must have been horrible to memorize all of those animal facts. Or do you get to walk around with note cards?"

To this Gar actually got quite upset. "I'll have you know that I graduated with a degree in zoology," he said. "I know more about animals than any school textbook! Come on, ask me about any animal."

"Alright then, mister zoologist," said Raven. "Tell me all you know about… the raven."

"Ha! I totally knew you were gonna say that," said Gar with a grin. "The raven, huh? Alright, here it goes. The raven is in the class Aves, the order Passeriformes, the suborder Passeres, the family Corvidae, the genus Corvus, and the species Corax. It's found along the eastern United States from Canada to northern Georgia. Uh, it's the largest member of the crow family. They're strong fliers that can hover in place like American kestrels or soar like a hawk. They may fly like stunt pilots at times, doing like partial barrel-rolls in flight. Sometimes they form large flocks of over several hundred individuals during their autumnal migration. Ha! Is that enough raven info for ya?"

Raven had been quiet throughout his educational speech on the bird she was named for. She took a sip of her soda water and said, "Very interesting."

He just stared at her for a moment. "Is that it?" he asked. "I just threw up an essay's worth of info on the raven and all you have to say is 'very interesting'? Come on, don't I deserve at least an 'I'm impressed'?"

"I would have given you an 'I'm impressed' if you had impressed me," said Raven. "But you failed to mention that ravens are mostly solitary creatures and are among the most intelligent of all birds."

Gar saw what she was doing, she was sizing him up. Well, he wasn't gonna fall for this trap. "Well, of course I didn't mention that," he said, coolly. "That's, like, common knowledge. It'd be like me describing a strawberry and having to say that it was red. Everyone knows that already."

"I see," said Raven thinking. "Well, in that case, I am quite impressed. You certainly know your way around a raven. And if you even think about saying, 'I'd like to know my way around one more,' I'll end you."

Gar actually started laughing. "Okay, I swear to God, I would never say something like that!" he laughed. "And thanks for admitting that you're impressed. You wanna know about any other animals?"

"Not at the moment," said Raven, taking a long sip of her drink, finishing it off.

"Oh," said Gar, a bit miffed.

She closed her book and began putting her jacket on. "I'm going home," said Raven.

"What? Already?" he asked, trying not to sound disappointed or panicked that he'd scared her off.

"I only stay long enough to finish my drink and see what sort of night the lounge is having," said Raven. "I have a responsibility to this place, after all."

"You do?" asked Gar, confused.

"Of course I do," said Raven. "I own it, after all."

Gar was shocked. "You own it?" he asked.

Raven rolled her eyes and said, "Don't act as if you didn't know that."

"No, I seriously didn't!" said Gar. "Oh, jeez, I didn't know this place was yours. Great, now I look like some sorta sleazy guy trying to score free drinks or something."

"Oh, calm down," said Raven standing up. "You seem to be a decent enough man. And I believe I could learn from you; animal wise, that is." She fixed her jacket and placed her purse strap over her shoulder. "Good evening, Mr. Logan. I'm sure I'll see you again, whether I want to or not." And with that she walked past him and out of the lounge.

Gar couldn't believe it. She actually expected to see him again. And she said that she could learn from him. They had had a civil conversation! After she'd tried to run him away by insinuating he was gay or a lowlife. But he'd stayed strong and now he knew that she wouldn't be as cold to him. Or at least she wouldn't shoo him away. Either way, it had been a successful night!


	4. The Chakra Cafe'

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 4: The Chakra Café

To say that Vic was shocked would have been an understatement. He just plain stared at Gar with a blank look on his face for a few minutes as Gar told him the events of the night. Gar, himself, was beaming and smiling from ear to ear.

"Are you bein serious with me?" asked Vic.

"Oh yeah," said Gar with a smug grin.

"This is just… I can't believe… she owns the night lounge?" asked Vic.

"Vic!" said Gar. "That's beside the point. I'm actually making progress with her! I mean, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I just might be able to win her over."

"I can't believe I'm sayin this, but I think you're right," said Vic.

Gar was quite shocked and smiled widely. "This is truly the happiest day in my life… thus far," he said, shedding a fake tear.

"Whatever," said Vic, brushing him off. "Just don't go screwin this up."

"Dude, would you stop saying that?" laughed Gar.

"I'm just sayin it cuz you have a bad track record of screwin up," said Vic.

"Well I'm not gonna do it this time," said Gar. "I like this girl way too much."

"Trust me, I can tell," said Vic, smiling.

Gar smiled back and headed to his room. He was so pumped up he swore he could do a back flip. First he took care of all of his animals then he collapsed on his bed. He had a dreamy smile on his face as he thought about Raven Roth. She was so beautiful and she was definitely different from any other girl he'd ever met. She was intelligent, very intelligent. He could tell by the way she spoke alone. Now, he wasn't the brightest individual when it came to most things, but when it came to things that interested him he was actually quite intelligent as well. So much so that he actually scared his friends sometimes.

"I gotta show her how smart I am," he said to himself. "But I can't just show off or she'll say I'm a, well, a showoff. I'll have to be really careful or she'll see what I'm doing."

He decided to go back to the lounge two days later. He was going to wait three days, but he just couldn't do it. By then it was Saturday and that meant there would be a sizeable crowd there. He hoped this meant there would be no seats left and he'd just _have_ to sit with her again.

He entered the lounge and found it buzzing with activity. He smiled and looked towards Raven Roth's table. To his shock, she wasn't there! He looked around, but didn't see her anywhere. He ran to the bartender to find out where she was.

"Hello again, sir," said the bartender, recognizing him.

"Hey, where's Raven?" he asked.

"Oh, she doesn't come in on weekends," said the bartender.

"Awe, damn," said Gar, pounding the bar with his fist.

"But…" started the bartender, catching Gar's attention. "I could tell you where she's at."

"You could?" said Gar. Then he thought for a moment. "Alright, how much ya want?"

"Eh, a twenty should do it," said the bartender with a sly look.

Gar grumbled and pulled a twenty, his only twenty, from his wallet and threw it at the bartender. "Alright, where is she?"

"She's at the 'Chakra Café'," said the bartender. "She usually goes there on Saturdays."

"Thanks," said Gar and he quickly exited the lounge.

After driving around for a little bit he did finally find it. He quickly parked and ran inside. He looked around and there he saw her, sitting at a table, alone, drinking a cup of tea and reading yet again. He calmed himself down, making sure he didn't seem as excited as he was, and walked over to her.

"Hey," he said, to get her attention.

"I see my bartender just got twenty dollars richer," said Raven, not looking up. "Or is this a coincidence?"

"No, I'm out twenty bucks," he chuckled.

"Awe, that's too bad," said Raven. "If it were a coincidence I would take it as some sort of sign for us to be together. But, it's not. Oh well."

Gar's smile disappeared and he opened his mouth to say something, but decided to just shake it off. "So, this is where you go on Saturdays?" he asked.

"Not every Saturday," said Raven. "Just every once in a while when I don't feel like staying in."

"Ah," he said. "So, uh, hey, you said that you could learn from me. Is there, uh, anything you wanna know?"

Raven finally peered over her book and looked at him, sending chills through his body. "Actually," she said, gently closing her book and setting it aside, "I would like too know a bit more about you. I know you work at the zoo and you love nature, not to mention that you believe you know everything about every animal."

"Well, maybe not every animal," Gar chuckled humbly.

"And it's obvious to me that you want to get closer to me," said Raven. "And though you claim it is only in friend form, I highly doubt that. So, tell me a bit about yourself."

"Do you mean, like, my past?" asked Gar.

"If that's where you'd like to start," said Raven.

"Alright, but on one condition," said Gar.

"And what would that be, Mr. Logan?" asked Raven.

"If I talk about my past, then I want to hear about your past," said Gar. "I want to hear about you from you. You said that I knew your past and immediately grew upset. Then tell me what you can about you."

"A quid pro quo situation, correct?" asked Raven.

"You got it," said Gar with a smile. "So, is it a deal?"

Raven thought for a moment. "Alright, Mr. Logan, it's a deal," she said.

"Uh, heh, one more thing," said Gar. "Could you please stop calling me Mr. Logan? Just Gar is fine."

"I don't believe we're on first name bases yet," said Raven.

Gar sighed and said, "Alright, whatever. So, you wanna know about my past, huh? Well, I grew up in Africa, Upper Lamumba, actually, even though I was born here in the U.S. My parents were bio-chemists doing work there. One day, we went on a boat trip and, let's just say many things went wrong, and they both died."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Raven.

"Yeah, well, I try not to think about it," said Gar. It was clear it was a sensitive subject. He had introduced it casually enough, but that was only because he didn't want people to see how much it bothered him. "Anyway, after they died their lawyer got custody of me and tried to take all of my inheritance and even hired these guys to kill me. Luckily I got away and a few years later I was adopted by a family here in the states. They gave me everything and I owe a lot to them. Unfortunately, they both kinda died in an accident, too, a few years ago. Anyway, I went to a normal school and then to college and here I am today. Your turn."

Raven just stared at him. It was an odd stare and Gar wasn't sure he was comfortable with it. She was looking deep into his eyes with a mixture of fascination, curiosity, sadness, and what could only be guessed as kindness. After a moment, she spoke.

"You've been through a lot in your life," she said softly. "More than you let on and even more than you've revealed to me; I can see it in your eyes. You have very sad eyes, Mr. Logan. And yet, I also see something else within them."

"W-What?" asked Gar, feeling quite naked in front of this woman.

"Hope," said Raven. "There is hope behind the sadness and I find that very… intriguing."

"How… how can you see all that?" asked Gar, this all seeming a bit surreal for him.

"I've always had a knack for seeing into the depths of people when I get to know them," said Raven. "And I'm sensitive enough to feel what others are feeling. Call it some sort of sixth sense." She saw how oddly he was staring at her and he looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, I've gone too far."

"No," he said quickly. "It's just, this is kinda weird, you know? No one's ever… figured out who I really am before. But, you… it's like you've looked into my soul or something."

"Like I said, I'm sorry," said Raven. "I've obviously made you feel uncomfortable. I have a horrible habit of doing that to people."

"You don't have to be sorry," said Gar. "I think it's really cool! And, well, I'd like to say… thank you."

"Thank you? For what?" she asked.

"For being honest with me," said Gar. "And for actually not hiding yourself from me for a moment. I mean, I've only known you for like a week, and you've just revealed something to me that I can tell you only tell people you're comfortable with. And that's what I've been trying to achieve this whole time; you being comfortable with me. Or, are you not and I'm just looking like a total jackass right now?"

"No, you don't look like a jackass right now," said Raven. "I believe that's how you always look."

"Cheap shot," said Gar with a smirk.

"Sorry, I had to take it," said Raven with a very small smirk of her own.

"Okay, so I've told you some stuff about me and you've obviously figured some stuff about me for yourself," said Gar. "Now, can you tell me something about you?"

"Alright," said Raven. "But, first, I have to know how much you know already."

"Oh," said Gar, not very comfortable with this. "Well, uh, are you sure?"

"Yes," said Raven.

"Okay, well, my friends told me that your dad was Trigon Roth and you were married to this guy named Malchior," said Gar. "And your husband was actually working for your dad's rival and was giving him secret info. Your dad found out and broke into your house with a bunch of assassins to kill him. In the end, everyone was dead, but you."

Raven stared at him for a bit. "Is that all?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," said Gar.

"Are you certain?" asked Raven. "You don't know anything else about it?"

"Well, uh," said Gar, uneasily. "I did kinda hear that you were pregnant at the time and that you lost the baby after the whole shootout."

Gar wasn't sure how she was going to respond to him knowing this knowledge, but she'd asked and if she got upset he would be sure to point that out. Thus far the two had been really connecting and getting closer. He just hoped he hadn't ruined it.

"All that you heard is true," she said at last. "Those are indeed the events that have taken place the last two years of my life."

"Huh, I'm sorry to hear that, then," said Gar.

"Like I said before, I don't need your pity," Raven snapped.

"No, I'm sorry that all I heard was right," said Gar. "I was kinda hoping that they'd blown it all out of proportion and it wasn't all true. I'm just sorry it all really happened. But, please, don't mistake it for pity."

Raven heard his words and saw that there really was no pity in his voice or in his words. That was quite refreshing to her. She felt herself smile a very small bit and she looked to him.

"I was, as you know, born into the crime world," said Raven. "It'd be hard not to when your father is a crime lord. My mother passed away when I was young and I remember little about her. Only that she did not love my father, nor did he love her. I believe that he had a hand in my mother's death, but I will never know now that he's gone. Anyway, I grew up in a very sheltered life…"


	5. A Visit at the Zoo

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 5: A Visit at the Zoo

Vic looked at the clock again. It was almost two in the morning and still Gar wasn't back. He'd left at quarter of eight. Vic knew he shouldn't be getting worried; he wasn't Gar's mother. But, still, Gar had never stayed out this late before. Well, he had once but that was only because he had gotten so smashed at a party he had had to walk back to his dorm. But that was two years ago in college. Anything could have happened to him now.

Finally, he heard a shuffle of keys, the door lock being unlocked, and the old, creaking door swing open. Gar looked inside and was surprised not to see a dark apartment. Instead, all the lights were on and Vic was sitting on the couch.

"Oh, hey," said Gar, walking in. "I didn't think you'd be up."

"Normally, I wouldn't be," said Vic, standing up. "But when my best friend is missin somewhere in the city, I tend to stay up."

"Missing?" Gar laughed. "Awe, were you worried about me?"

"Don't mess with me, Gar, I'm tired and I wanna know where the hell you were," Vic growled.

"Well, I just had possibly the best night in my entire life!" said Gar. "She wasn't at the lounge, but the bartender told me where she was. I found her at this café place and we just sat there and talked."

"Talked?" said Vic, not believing him.

"Yeah, talked," said Gar. "I mean, at first we were both really casual and matter-of-factly about it all, but then, I don't know what happened. We started to really talk to each other and open up and it was… it was awesome! Vic, she totally gets me! I've never met anyone who's seen the real me so quickly before. I mean, this whole time I thought that she was like high class and I was low class or something. But she showed me that we're actually on the same playing field. She's not as different from us as we thought!"

"Whoa, wait a second," said Vic. "You mean you actually connected with her?"

"Yeah!" said Gar with a smile. "We sat in the café until it closed and then we just walked around the city for a while."

"Did ya walk her home?" Vic chuckled.

"Oh, no, she doesn't want me knowing where she lives yet," said Gar taking his jacket off. Vic stared at him for a moment then started laughing. "Shut up! She's just really cautious. I mean, wouldn't you be if you were in her position?"

"I'm sorry, man, I just thought it was funny the way you said it," said Vic. "Alright, well, I'm goin to bed."

"Goodnight," said Gar. "And thanks for worrying about me."

"Shut up," said Vic and he went to his room.

Gar decided he should probably go to bed as well, though he didn't feel tired at all. How could he? He and Raven Roth had just talked all night and revealed their pasts to each other. He'd found out more about her than he'd ever hoped to know and she even revealed a few things about himself that he didn't know.

It went without saying that he basically slept all of Sunday away so that he'd be refreshed for Monday. When Monday did come Gar had work and he hoped it'd be a good day. He arrived at the zoo and saw that there were four school busses waiting for him already. He was relieved to see it was a high school field trip, not an elementary school.

He changed into his zoo uniform, khaki shorts and a green shirt with the zoo's name and logo on the pocket, and met the large group of teenagers at the zoo's entrance.

"Sup, dudes, my name's Gar and I'll be your tour guide today," said Gar with a friendly smile. "Basically I'm gonna lead you through the zoo and give you little tidbits of info on each animal we see. Now, before we start, are there any questions?" He saw a group of girls giggling and one of them raised her hand, after her friends nudged her a few times. "Yes?"

"What's your favorite animal?" she asked, giggling and blushing along with her friends. They were a typical group of teenage girls, dressing like they were older and flirting with every guy as cute as Gar.

"My favorite animal?" he laughed. "Well… at the moment, my favorite animal is… the raven. Any other questions?"

"Have any of the animals ever gotten loose?" asked a young man.

"Not that I know of," said Gar. "But, I haven't been here very long. I did hear that last year we had an escaped mongoose."

"Really?" they all asked.

"No," said Gar. "Now, follow me and let's get this zoo party started!" And with that he began the tour. Little did he know that at the back of the group someone had joined the tour, though she certainly wasn't a high school student.

Gar took the large group around the zoo at a good pace. Some would ask real questions and take down notes in their notebooks. Others just goofed off and tried to scare or intimidate the animals. Gar did his best to keep the peace and not seem like 'The Man' but he absolutely did _not_ allow people harassing the animals.

Halfway through the zoo it was time for a lunch break. Gar decided he would find somewhere private to eat or the girls wouldn't leave him alone. He loved being adored and crushed on by girls as much as the next guy, but these were high school, underage teenage girls. If he so much as insinuated the wrong thing he could get fired and sued. Yeah, he was better off taking his lunch break alone, far off from the high school kids.

He found a picnic table across from the lions' pen and sat down with his tray of food he'd gotten from the cafeteria; a nice garden salad, a large fry, a jell-o cup, and a large soda; perfect. He dug in and felt his emptying stomach begin to fill.

"My, that looks healthy…ish," said a familiar voice.

He looked up from his salad and saw Raven Roth standing right in front of him. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark blue long sleeved top. Her arms were crossed and she had a smug look on her face. He choked on the piece of cucumber he was munching on, he was so surprised.

"Raven!" he said, once he cleared the vegetable of his windpipe. "What, uh, what're you doing here?"

"Making sure you weren't a lying jackass," said Raven, taking a seat across from him.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"I wanted to make sure you really did work at the zoo and you weren't just making it up to impress me," said Raven. "Turns out you were telling the truth. I guess you're simply a jackass."

"Well… I guess that's better than being a lying jackass, right?" he asked.

Raven gave him a small smile and said, "Right."

"So, uh, how'd you find me?" he asked.

"I've been with the group since the beginning," said Raven. "And, I must say, you're a pretty interesting tour guide."

"Interesting in a good way or a bad way?" he asked.

"At this point?" said Raven. "I'd have to say… in a good way. I feel even more educated thanks to your lovely, what did you call them? Tidbits of info?"

"Oh, yeah, well, I just use that kind of talk for the kids," he said.

"Really? Because it seems to me that's how you talk all of the time," said Raven.

"Well, we can't all talk proper and educated-like like you," said Gar with a smirk.

"By the way, is your favorite animal really the raven?" she asked.

Gar nearly choked again and began to blush. "Oh, uh, yeah, you know, it kinda is… now," he said, feeling quite embarrassed.

"Why do I get the feeling that if my name was Elephant your favorite animal would be the elephant?" she asked.

Gar gave a nervous laugh and began scratching the back of his neck. "Well, uh, I don't know about that," he said, trying to save face. "I mean, the raven really is an interesting animal, you know? And, uh, the fact that you have the same name is just a, um, coincidence."

"Really?" asked Raven, half out of curiosity and half out of feeling hurt.

Gar heard the odd tone in her voice and realized that maybe, just maybe, she wanted him to like the raven because of her. "Well… maybe you did have a little bit of an influence on my animal of choice," he said, choosing his words carefully. And, low and behold, he saw her give him a very small, cute smile.

"I'm… glad to know that," she said. "Not that I really care."

"Of course not," he said, playing along with her. "So, uh, mind if I ask you something?"

"What?" she asked.

"What's your favorite animal?" he asked.

Raven bit her lip and thought for a moment. "My favorite animal," she thought aloud. "I'd have to say, currently, my animal of choice would have to be… the gecko."

"The gecko?" Gar laughed. "Why the gecko?"

"Because… it's green," she said simply with a smirk. And with that she got up from the table. "You better finish your lunch. I expect this tour of yours to begin again on time." And with that she headed off into the crowd of people.

Gar felt a bit confused. 'Because it's green?' he thought. 'Does she really only like it because it's green? I would think she'd have a more intelligent reason than… wait a second. Green? Green! Oh my God, I'm green! Well, I'm not green, but I've got green hair and eyes and my shirt is green. Dude! She totally likes me! She likes me!'

He quickly devoured his lunch and got ready to start the second half of the tour. Of course, now that he knew she was there and watching him he felt a bit nervous. But, at the same time, he felt an immense need to impress her. So much was going through his head he doubted he'd be able to finish an entire sentence without screwing up. He decided to just push everything out of his mind. At this point, he really couldn't afford to make himself look like a jackass.

The rest of the tour did go smoothly and without incident. The students asked him a few last questions, since many of them had forgotten that they were there to actually learn, and Gar was happy to answer their questions. Once that was done they all climbed onto their busses and off they went. This left one person behind.

Gar saw Raven at the exit of the zoo, writing down a few things in a small notebook. He calmed his excited nerves down and made his way over to her. As usual, she really didn't give him any indication that she was aware of his presence.

"So, uh, did you like the tour?" he asked, hiding his nervousness.

"It was very informative," she said. "I'm glad I came. And is this what you do every day?"

"Basically," Gar chuckled. "Five days a week from eight to five."

"You get up that early?" she asked.

"Well, it's not exactly my preferred time to wake up," said Gar. "But, I love working here too much to really care."

"You're very passionate about the zoo, aren't you?" she asked.

"No, just about the animals," said Gar with a smile. "This zoo could definitely use some new renovations. The animal habitats are way too small and not nearly realistic enough."

"Have you talked to your superiors about this?" asked Raven.

"Yeah, but they don't wanna hear it," said Gar. "They gave me the ole 'too expensive' excuse. I swear, if I ever get the money I'm gonna redo this whole place."

"I wonder, Mr. Logan, if you care a little too much about animals," said Raven.

"Well, humans are every animal's worst enemy," said Gar. "I guess I'm kinda trying to make up for that fact. You don't think I'm weird, do you?"

"No," said Raven. "A bit eccentric at times, but not weird. At least, not as weird as I first thought you to be. Well, have a good afternoon. I'll be heading home now."

"Oh, uh, okay," said Gar, a bit downhearted. "I'll see you around, I guess."

"I'm sure you will," she said with a small smile and left.

Gar watched as Raven Roth exited the zoo and headed off into the parking lot. Today had been a very important day. For the first time, she'd made the effort to see him. This meant she must have liked him some way, shape, or form. And, if he wasn't mistaken, they had down a bit of flirting during his lunch break. He just hoped he wasn't imagining all of this.

"Gar!" shouted a voice.

He turned and saw the woman who sold the zoo passes waving him over. Time to get another tour underway.


	6. A Donation for a Friend

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 6: A Donation for a Friend

"Oh, I am so excited!" said Kori as they approached the zoo.

Gar had finally been working at the zoo long enough to get his friends in for free. He knew that if he did anything wrong they were never going to let him live it down, so he was actually pretty nervous about having them there.

"Okay, guys, I gotta take this kid's birthday party around," said Gar. "You can tag along if you want, but don't be afraid to break off and do what you want."

"I think we'll tag along for a little while," said Dick.

"Yeah, I wanna see you at work," said Vic with a smirk.

Gar sighed and went over to the group of kids. He did his usual introduction and began to lead the party into the zoo, with his three friends following along. He did his best to act as he usually did, but Vic was in the background trying to make him laugh or distract him. This was why he didn't want them to be there while he was working.

As they went along Kori continually stopped him and asked questions about the animals he was talking about. Of course, he was happy to answer the questions, but he felt embarrassed since he was trying to entertain the birthday party, not his friends. Once in a while Vic would ask a stupid question that would make the entire group of kids laugh. Dick was probably the most mature and best behaved of the three.

It seemed like the longest tour of his life. But, hours upon an eternity later, they arrived back at the entrance/exit. Gar answered a few final questions, just from the children, then sent them on their way. Now he had to face his friends.

"So, how'd I do?" he asked.

"Oh, you are a wonderful guide for tours of the zoo!" said Kori with a smile.

"Yeah, you really know your stuff," said Dick.

"What about you, Vic?" asked Gar, nervously. "What're you gonna make fun of me for?"

"Hey, I'm not sayin anythin," said Vic. "You did a great job. Honestly, I wasn't sure if you'd be able to keep this job for more than a week. Looks like I was wrong; which is a good thing for once."

Gar smiled, quite relieved. "Good, I'm glad you guys think so," he said. "Well, I get off in like a half hour if you wanna hang around."

"Awesome, we'll go out afterwards," said Dick.

"Oh, yes, let us go to The Gem!" said Kori.

"Cool, maybe we can see Gar's girlfriend," said Vic in a teasing tone.

"Dude, don't say that!" said Gar. "You're gonna jinx it for me."

"I still can't believe you've been dating Raven Roth," said Dick.

"We're not dating!" said Gar. "We've hung out a couple times and gotten to know each other a little bit, that's all. Now get outa here so I can get back to work."

"Logan!" a voice shouted. Gar cringed and turned to see one of his superiors, Hank, yelling at him. That wasn't a good sign.

"Uh, we'll see ya later, Gar," said Vic and with that the three headed back off into the zoo to see Kori's favorite animals once more.

Gar sighed and walked over to Hank. He was sure to be yelled at for something he did. As he walked his mind raced and he tried to think of why he was being called out. He really couldn't think of anything.

"Yes?" he asked upon reaching Hank.

"Did you hear?" asked Hank.

"Hear what?" asked Gar.

"About the $10 million donation we just received!" said Hank, holding up a piece of paper. "I just got this e-mailed to me. It says that we just got a $10 million donation to renovate the zoo and if we need anymore money we're to contact her!"

"Contact who?" asked Gar, who was quite shocked by all of this.

"You'll never believe it," said Hank. "Raven Roth! That mobster's daughter!"

Gar felt the breath taken right out of him. His jaw dropped and he grabbed the paper from Hank. He scanned through it and saw that Raven had, indeed, donated $10 million to the zoo to help update it. He couldn't believe it.

"Oh my God," he said.

"I know, can you believe it?!" said Hank. "You better make a meeting with the big guys and tell them what they should improve on. I mean, you're the one always going on and on about how this place isn't animal friendly enough. Gar? Gar!" Hank looked around saw that he was gone.

Gar quickly took care of his end of shift chores and such then found his friends. He told them about what was going on and said he had to see Raven. So they all decided to head over to the lounge.

Raven sat at her table, sipping her soda water and reading another new book. She read a new book everyday. It might have been five, but the lounge was already growing busy. That would be because it was Friday, and that meant date night.

She heard the lounge door open and a group of people enter. She then heard someone run over to her table and take a seat. Only one person would do such a thing. She didn't even need to look up to know it was him.

"Raven, I just found out," said Gar.

"Found out what, Mr. Logan?" asked Raven.

"That you donated $10 million to the zoo!" said Gar. "How could you afford that? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm totally excited, but where did you get $10 million!"

Raven looked up from her book and caught sight of Gar. He looked like he'd just gotten off, in fact she was sure of it since she could smell the zoo on him, and he looked a bit confused yet excited. Did he really not know?

"Are you seriously asking me where I got $10 million?" asked Raven.

"Yeah!" said Gar. "I mean, did you win the lottery since I saw you last?"

Raven bit her lip, doing her best not to smile, but he sure was damn amusing. "Mr. Logan, I think you should know that $10 million is nothing to me," said Raven. "Mere change, really."

"So… wait, are you rich or something?" he asked innocently.

"My, you really don't know anything about me, do you?" she said in an amused voice. "Well, let me put it like this. When my father died he was worth $235 million. When my husband died he was worth $116 million. I was named sole heir to both of their estates and accounts. Oh, and that's not including what my mother left me when she died as well. I believe she was worth about $12 million; that's how much my father let her have. So, add that all together and I believe I could certainly be categorized as rich."

Gar stared at her in shock. He hadn't known. He honestly hadn't known. Raven could see that and that suddenly made him seem even more attractive to her. That this entire time this man had been trying to get close to her and he hadn't known about her past and he hadn't known that she was worth $363 million. That meant that he was genuinely attracted to her.

"Holy shit!" said Gar, breaking Raven out of her thoughts. "No wonder you don't have to work!"

Raven did her best to stifle a laugh. "Yes, that would be the reason why," she said, regaining her composure. "Now, if you ever need any more money for the zoo please ask me."

"But… why?" he asked.

"Why what?" asked Raven.

"Why did you give the zoo that money?" asked Gar.

"You said that the zoo needed some improvements," said Raven. "I agreed, therefore, I decided to help."

"Well… thanks," said Gar with a smile. "I mean, really, I can't thank you enough. I know you didn't do it for me or anything, but it's the nicest thing I think anyone's ever done for something I care so much about."

"Of course I did it for you," said Raven plainly. "I wanted to thank you for being so persistent and forcing me to be your friend."

"Hey, I didn't force you, I…" he started, but then he realized something. "Did… did you just say… we're friends?"

"Yes," said Raven, nodding and doing her best to hide the smile that wanted to reveal itself to him.

Gar, on the other hand, had no problem smiling widely and happily. "Wow, I can't believe we're friends," he said, honestly shocked that all of his hard work thus far had paid off.

"Trust me, I'm as shocked as you are," said Raven.

"Well, uh, since we're friends now," said Gar. "Do you think it'd be okay if my friends hung out with us? They're over there." He pointed to a table and waved to them. Raven watched as three individuals waved back.

"Oh, uh, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that," said Raven, suddenly seeming nervous.

"Come on, they're really nice," said Gar. "I've known them since college."

"That's great, but I would rather not," said Raven, looking back into her book.

"Why?" asked Gar.

"Why do I have to give you a reason?!" she snapped. Gar was taken back a bit by her harsh tone and looked at her a little scared. She sighed and said, "I'm sorry. It's just… how long have we known each other now?"

"Uh… a few weeks," said Gar.

"It took me a few weeks to get comfortable with you and to call you a friend," said Raven. "And you didn't know who I was. Your friends do know about my past and it'd be… hard for me to be friends with them because of that."

"Why? If you're scared of them pitying you, you don't have to worry," said Gar. "I'll make sure they don't say anything that'll make you feel uncomfortable."

"It's not that simple," said Raven looking down. "Look, I'm having a hard enough time accepting that I've finally made a friend. I don't think I'm ready to add three more to the list."

"Ah," said Gar. "Okay, we'll hold off for now. So you wanna talk or something?"

"No, you can go be with your friends," said Raven. "I'll be fine."

"But I don't wanna leave you alone," said Gar. "We're friends now."

"Gar, really, I'll be fine," said Raven.

Gar sighed and went to stand up. "Well, if that's what you really… wait a second," he said, freezing. "Did… did you just call me Gar?"

Raven was quiet for a moment. "What if I did?" she asked.

Gar smiled and sat right back down. "Wow, I guess we really are friends now, aren't we," he said.

"Just because I called you by your first name doesn't mean you should abandon your other friends," said Raven.

"Are you kidding?" he laughed. "Screw 'em! I would rather hang out with you."

Raven looked up from her book. "You… you really would rather be with me than them?" she asked.

"Of course!" said Gar. "You're way more fun then they are."

"You're just saying that," said Raven, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks were beginning to tingle with what she guessed was a blush.

"No, I'm not," he chuckled. "I learn something new about you every time we meet. Really, I don't think I've ever met anyone like you before."

"And… is that a good thing?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "It's a real good thing."

"Well… I've never met anyone like you before either," she said with a small smile, her cheeks fully burning now.

And, for a few minutes, they just sat in silence with each other. They might have been friends now, but there was something strongly pushing them to continue on forward, past friendship. Gar had known it from the beginning, but now Raven was starting to feel it as well.


	7. Roth Manor

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 7: Roth Manor

A week had passed since Ravens admission of being friends with Gar. In that time they had seen each other two more times, at the lounge of course. They would sit and they would talk for hours, getting a little bit closer. Gar could feel that Raven was starting to get more comfortable with him every time they met. Finally he worked up the nerve and asked if he could see her outside of the lounge.

"And just where would we meet?" she asked, not looking up from her book. He found it funny that even though he was there and they talked the whole time, she still read a book during the duration of their time together.

"Well, where would you allow me to meet you?" he asked. "I know you get all weird in public and I want you to be comfortable."

"I should warn you that there aren't many places I feel comfortable in," said Raven. "Just my lounge, the café, and my home."

"Well, I guess that leaves us with the café or your home," said Gar. "So, I guess the café it is. Does that sound good?"

"No, I've gotten a bit sick of the café," said Raven.

"You got sick of something?" he laughed. "You come here almost every day, read a book every day, and drink soda water every day. You never go to the café. How could you get sick of it?"

"Let's just say every time I've gone there lately I've been bombarded by gawkers who do nothing but stare and whisper about me," said Raven. "I guess word got out that I go there."

"Awe, that sucks," said Gar. "So you can only come here or be at home? Don't you feel like a prisoner?"

Raven was quiet for a moment then she said, "At times, yes. But I also feel comfortable."

"Is there anything I can do?" asked Gar. "I don't think it's fair that because of what some assholes did you can't go out and be a normal person."

"I don't think it's fair either," said Raven. "But this is the life I'm used to. I don't think I could be any happier any other way."

"Well, maybe I can change your mind," said Gar. "If you'll let me, of course."

"We'll see," said Raven, looking above her book for a moment.

"So, I guess we can't see each other anywhere else," Gar sighed. "Oh well, I like the lounge anyway. Definitely different then what I've been used to. But I don't mind going out of my comfort zone for you."

Raven looked up from her book and their eyes met. She wasn't sure why, but whenever they made straight on eye contact she felt as if her whole body was being filled with a glowing warmth. No man had ever had such an affect on her. And as much as it scared her, it secretly intrigued her as well.

She tore her eyes from his and looked back down into her book, hoping he couldn't see the blush forming on her cheeks. "Well, I suppose I could allow you to come to my home," she said, trying to hide how nervous she was about offering this.

Gar did his best not to let his jaw drop as she said this. "Do you… do you mean it?" he asked. "You'd let me come to your house?"

"I believe you've earned my trust by now," said Raven with a small smirk. "So… do you want to? Come to my home?"

"I… I would really like that," said Gar with a smile. "But, only if you really feel comfortable with me coming over."

Raven bit her lip for a moment then said, "I do."

The rest of that evening flew by in a blur, neither really caring what happened afterwards. They exchanged numbers and decided that Gar would come over to her home that Saturday at six o'clock, where they would have dinner together… as friends, of course. But, friends or not, this was a huge step!

And now the Saturday had arrived and time was winding down. Gar was currently driving in his car, trying to find her address. As he drove down the street the houses seemed to get larger and larger and fancier and fancier. He knew she was a millionaire, but for some reason he hadn't thought of her living in a large house. Money really wasn't important to him, so he was still naïve on how people with money would live like.

Finally, he found the right address and looked up at the house. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. It wasn't a house at all. It was an all out mansion! There was even a large gate at the head of the driveway and a guard sitting behind it in a little hut. He pulled up to the gate and pushed an intercom button.

"May I help you?" asked a burly man's voice.

"Yeah, um, I'm here to see Raven," said Gar, nervously.

"May I have your name?" he asked.

"Gar Logan," he responded.

"Thank you," said the guard. Moments later the gates began to open and Gar was able to pull in. He saw the guard and gave him a kind wave, to which the guard just stared at him with a serious look. He quickly sped up and drove down the long driveway as quickly as he could.

He reached the mansion and parked right outside of it, not really sure of where to put his car. He figured he could just move it if it were in a wrong place. He walked up to the grand door and rung the bell. While he waited for what he guessed would be a butler to open the door he made sure his clothes looked okay and that he didn't smell. He was known for sweating profusely when nervous.

The door opened and he was shocked to see her standing on the other side, not a butler. "Hello," she said with a small smile and stepped aside. "Come on in."

He stepped inside and couldn't help but stare in awe. Everything was so bright and clean; he almost felt like he was in a museum. He saw the grand staircase and wondered if that was the one she'd fallen down when the shootout happened.

"Whoa, nice place you got here," he said, trying to hide how overwhelmed he was.

"Thank you," said Raven as she closed the door. "I know it's a bit much, but I like it."

"Well, it's certainly you," he laughed. "It's so clean here. I can't even keep my room clean. How many cleaning ladies do you have?"

"None," said Raven. "I clean my own home. I have no need for assistance. The only person I employ here is my guard, Sam."

"Yeah, what's with that?" asked Gar. "Why do you need a guard?"

"Gar, I'm the daughter of a dead, but still hated, mobster," said Raven. "And the widow of a dead, but still hated, mobster. I need protection."

"Ah, that's right," said Gar. "Forgot about that."

Then he heard something that confused then shocked him as well as fill him with joy. He heard her chuckle and perhaps even giggle. He looked to her and saw that she had a bemused smile on her face.

"Y-You're laughing?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hold it in," she said, calming herself down. "It's just, I never thought I'd meet anyone who didn't care about my past or who I am. You really are a breath of fresh air, Gar. You really are."

Gar smiled widely; he'd never felt so happy before. "Well, I'm glad to know that," he said. "Thanks."

"No, thank you," she said still smiling softly. "Now, come on, dinner will be ready soon. But, I have to warn you, I'm not a very good cook."

"Hey, it's kinda hard to screw up vegetarian cooking," he chuckled. "Uh, you did know that I'm a vegetarian, right?"

Raven stared at him for a moment then said, "No. You've never mentioned that before. Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Oh, uh, I thought I did?" said Gar. "I always tell everyone that I'm a vegetarian. Shit, I bet I just ruined our dinner, didn't I?"

"Yes, but I also happen to have a lovely selection of numbers for places that deliver," Raven sighed and went into her kitchen. She opened a draw and took out a neat and organized folder. She opened it up and pushed it towards him. "Pick something."

Gar looked through it and said, "How about we just get a pizza? You like pizza, right?"

"Oddly enough, yes," said Raven.

"Awesome, then let's get pizza!" said Gar, looking for the phone number for a pizza place in her little delivery book. But he was stopped when Raven held a phone out to him.

"Here, just press the star button and then three," said Raven.

"You have pizza on speed dial?" he laughed.

"So?" she said, growing a bit agitated. He knew it was because she was feeling embarrassed.

"Nothing, I just think it's awesome, that's all," he said and pressed the buttons. "What kind of pizza do you like?"

"Cheese," said Raven. While he ordered them a pizza Raven put a hold on the dinner she'd been preparing by throwing it away. It was burnt anyway, so she was glad she didn't have to serve it to him. She wasn't sure why she cared if he liked her cooking or not but for some odd reason… it did.

"Hey, can I get one large pizza?" Gar ordered. "Half cheese and half veggie… Wait, don't you need the address?.. Oh, uh, okay… Yeah, thanks, bye. Well, they said they'd be here in like a half an hour. Pretty weird that they know your address."

"Let's just say I order often and they know my address by now," said Raven.

"Wow, you must really be a bad cook," he laughed.

"Let's just say I'm very close to hiring a chef," said Raven.

"Well, I hope the pizza guy gets passed your guard there," said Gar.

"Don't worry, he knows," said Raven. "That phone is tapped so that he can hear it."

"You mean… Sam the guard just heard me order a pizza?" he asked.

"Yes," said Raven.

"Whoa, creepy," he shuddered.

Raven shook her head and another phone rang. "Excuse me," she said and went to the phone. Gar saw that there were four phones lined up on the counter. He guessed each one must have had a specific use. She answered, sighed, and turned back to Gar. "I'm sorry, I have to take this. You can look around if you want. It may be a while," she said.

"Okay, is anything wrong?" he asked.

"No," said Raven. "I just have some work to do concerning The Gem. I thought we could hold off until tomorrow, but they're demanding I make decisions now. I really am sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it," said Gar, casually. "Besides, I wanted to sneak off and look around this place." He rubbed his hands together evilly.

"Have fun," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just be respectful of my possessions."

"Will do," he said with a smile and went off into the mansion to look around.

Raven wasn't sure who she was at that very moment. She had just let a man she'd only known for about two months loose in her house. She really hoped this wasn't a bad decision on her part. The fact that not many of her decisions in life had been good ones didn't really make her feel any better.


	8. Bound Forever

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 8: Bound Forever

Gar was having quite a time looking around Ravens mansion. He found various parlors and rooms full of old, antiquities that he knew were worth more than his entire being. He found a giant library that was larger than his entire apartment building. And just when he thought he wouldn't find one, he found an entertainment system that would've brought Vic to his knees. And that was just the first floor!

He made his way up the grand staircase and began his tour of the upstairs. He found a very cool room full of old swords and weapons. Curiosity got the better of him and he picked one up and began to swish it around. Of course, he accidentally hit a display case and nearly broke it. He quickly put the sword down and got out of there.

He found many guest rooms and he doubted they'd ever been used or ever would be used. He figured one day she'd end up turning each one into a library since she was going to run out of room in the library she had. Not that he had anything against libraries, but he wished she'd filled her rooms with more friends than books.

As he made his way around the second floor he noticed how quiet it was. He couldn't even hear her talking in the kitchen from where he was. There was no music, no sounds of the house settling, not even a sound from the piping system. It was scarily quiet. He hated it when it was quiet.

Finally, after looking around the second floor for ten minutes he found her bedroom. It was definitely the master bedroom; it was huge! He saw a king sized bed with a deep blue comforter. The whole room was of dark colors. Or maybe it only seemed like that because her curtains were drawn.

He walked around her room and saw that it was very bare. Everything was so neat and clean and organized. He felt like falling asleep just looking around it. Then he saw her bureau and his interest was peaked. He walked over and saw a decent sized, framed photograph. It was Ravens wedding photo. And next to it lay a large engagement ring made of three diamonds and a wedding band.

He picked up the picture and took a good look at it. She looked beautiful, not happy, but beautiful. And he finally saw Malchior. He looked quite smug with his arm wrapped in Ravens. "Asshole," Gar growled. He had bleach blond hair that was so light it almost looked white. His eyes were strong blue and out of all of his features stood out the most. Even though he was already dead, Gar wanted to kill him.

He decided that he should get out of there before Raven found him. He found a few more random rooms that he wasn't sure what their purposes were before he found another room that caught his attention. It was a nursery.

It was nearly the same size as the master bedroom. It was perfectly set up and out of all of the rooms he'd seen thus far it had the most color and life. There was a bassinet, a rocking chair, a small table meant for activities, stuffed animals, basically everything needed for a small child. The rug had little scenes from nursery rhymes and the curtains sported various playing baby animals. It was bright, it was cheerful, it was… full of life.

He really hadn't thought about the fact that at one point Raven had been pregnant. She just didn't seem the motherly type. But someone must have made up this room and he somehow doubted that her husband had done it. She must have been excited about the baby; why else would this room have so much love put into it?

He then felt very sad for her. He knew that she had baggage, but he'd put it all out of his mind. "All that matters is the here and now," was what he always said. But the truth was that you only get to where you are in life by coming from other places first. Raven was where she was now because of horrible, traumatizing events in her life. She was so young and already she was a widow and had lost a child. He hoped he could bring a little happiness in her life. She sure brought happiness into his.

"What are you doing in there?" asked Raven.

He spun around and saw that she was standing right outside the nursery's doorway. "Oh, uh, just looking around," he said.

"Well, come out," said Raven.

Gar came out of the room and watched as Raven quickly closed the door of the nursery. He couldn't help but see the pained look in her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was off limits," he said, hoping she wasn't too upset.

"It's not off limits," she said as she began to walk back down the hall, with Gar following after her. "The pizza's here."

"Oh," said Gar. "It was really nice."

"What was?" asked Raven.

"The nursery," said Gar.

"Oh," said Raven, an odd tone in her voice. "It's just a room."

"Yeah, but I wish I had a cool room like that when I was a baby," said Gar.

"Why? You wouldn't remember it anyway," said Raven.

"You don't know that," said Gar. "I can remember really far back."

"Whatever," said Raven.

It grew very quiet between them as they continued their walk. Gar knew he must have touched upon something when he mentioned the nursery. They remained silent as they made their way downstairs to the pizza that was waiting on the kitchen table. Once there they both sat down and served them selves some pizza.

"Mmm, this is the best pizza I've ever had!" said Gar as he took another bite.

"I know," said Raven with a small smile as she ate her own slice with a knife and a fork.

"Hey, thanks again for letting me come over," said Gar. "I know that must've taken a lot of trust. And I promise I'll do my best to keep your trust."

"Thank you," said Raven. "And, yes, it did take a lot of trust. In fact, it's still taking a lot of trust. I haven't had anyone in my home in… a long time."

"Well, I'm glad to be the first," he said with a grin.

Raven gave him a small grin then looked away uncomfortably. "Gar, I think there's something I need to make clear," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"I just want to make sure you know that I'm not looking for a relationship," said Raven. "And what I mean by that is a romantic relationship."

"Hey, I'm not gonna push you into anything you're not ready for," he said. "You've been through a lot and…"

"No, you don't understand," Raven sighed. "I can't be in a romantic with anyone; not now, not ever."

"What? Why not?" he asked.

"Because I'm a widow," said Raven. "And when I married my husband I swore off all other men."

"Yeah, but, isn't it only until 'death do us part'?" asked Gar. "He's dead, you're parted, you're free!"

"We never said 'till death do us part'," said Raven. "Because of the line of business Malchior was in, he knew that at some point he'd probably be killed. And because of that he made sure that when we married I would never remarry after his death. We are bonded in this life and the next."

"Well, maybe you can't marry, but you can date, right?" said Gar.

"I can't," said Raven, looking down. "I have to remain faithful to my husband."

"But he's dead!" said Gar. "And, don't you remember what he did to you? He sold your dad out!"

"Don't you dare lecture me on what I've experienced," she snapped angrily. "I know very well what he did. I know very well that he only married me because he knew it'd be the best way to get closer to my father. I know very well that he never loved me and that he only used me. The fact is that as horrible a bastard he was, I'm a person who keeps to their word. If I were to break my vows then I would be no better than him."

"Raven, that's crazy!" said Gar. "What if you find the one person you're supposed to be with for the rest of your life? What'll you do then? Are you really gonna give up being happy just because of some stupid vows you made to some dickhead?"

"I gave up on finding my Mr. Right a long time ago," said Raven. "He doesn't exist. And by honoring my vows I'm keeping myself from hoping. Besides, not many men find a woman who's a widow attractive. And those who do I would rather not meet."

"Raven… you can't let the mistakes and bad times from the past keep you from enjoying your future," said Gar. "I know Malchior hurt you, I can see that. But just because he did doesn't mean another man will do the same thing."

"And just who are you to tell me these things?" she snapped again.

Gar sighed and said, "Well… I've kinda been through what you've been through. I had girlfriend that used me."

Raven seemed to soften a little bit upon hearing this. "You did?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Gar. "We met my freshman year in college. Here name was Tara and it was like the moment we met we clicked. We went out for three years and I was totally set on marrying her as soon as we graduated. And then… I found out that she was stealing my work and turning in my papers as her own. The school didn't catch it until our junior year and she made it look as if _I_ had been cheating off of _her_. They actually threw me out of the school. It took a few months, but I got enough evidence together to prove that I had done all of the work and it was her who was cheating. The whole thing was a huge mess and the whole while I was furious and heartbroken. I realized that she'd never really liked me; she'd liked my work."

Raven listened intently as he told her his story. She could see the pain in his eyes as he recalled it as well as a bit of anger. And it was like what she'd been through. They'd both been betrayed and they'd both been hurt.

"Anyway, I know it's not exactly like what you went through or anything," he said humbly. "But, it is a little bit similar."

"I'm sorry," said Raven.

"Huh?" asked Gar, caught off guard.

"I'm sorry for how I acted," said Raven. "I arrogantly thought that such a thing had only happened to me. It seems we do have a little bit in common, don't we?"

"Yeah, we do," said Gar with a small smile. "But, the point I'm trying to make is that even though sometimes bad things happen we gotta keep going. All that matters is the here and now, that's my motto. Tara hurt me, broke my heart and made me feel like love doesn't really exist. That no woman would ever really love me; they'd just use me. But then I realized that because she didn't love me that our relationship was really never meant to be. That my Ms. Right is still out there, waiting for me. And I'm not gonna let someone like Tara ruin my chance of being happy."

"But you didn't marry her," said Raven, looking down.

"No, I didn't," said Gar. "But can I just put this out there? If Malchior really loved you then he'd always want you to be happy. And for him to forbid you from ever finding love again with someone else then is really selfish. I don't think he loved you; and if he did he sure loved himself even more."

"I know he didn't love me," said Raven. "But the fact is that my vows…"

"Rae, I've always believed that marriage is more than just two people getting legally bonded to each other," said Gar. "I think marriage only really counts when two people love each other and love each other more than they love themselves. In my mind, I was already married to Tara; if not legally. But when I found out what she'd done to me and that she didn't love me, I knew that our 'marriage' was over. But, that's just what I believe."

Raven stared at him for a moment. "Did you just call me Rae?" she asked.

Gar stared back at her. "I just poured my heart and mind out to you and you're stuck on the fact that I might have called you Rae?" he asked.

"You didn't 'might have', you did," said Raven.

"And?" said Gar. "Is there a problem with me giving you a nickname?"

"Well, I, uh," she stuttered. "I've… I've never had a nickname before."

"So? Is it alright?" he asked.

"I… I don't know," said Raven. "No one's ever gotten… _close_ enough to me or gotten comfortable enough with me to give me a nickname. This really is a first for me. I guess we really are true friends."

"Of course we are, Rae," he said, with a smile. "You said so yourself."

Raven smiled back and said, "So, Gar, what should we do now?"

"Hmm," he thought. "Got any board games?"


	9. A Game and Goodbyes

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 9: A Game and Goodbyes

"What's the point of this game?" asked Raven who was getting quite frustrated.

"I think the point of any game is to have fun," said Gar with a smile.

"Well I'm certainly not having fun," said Raven.

"Just roll the dice you sore loser," Gar chuckled.

Raven growled and rolled the dice onto the Monopoly board. She moved her little piece, the thimble, around the board. And, for the fifth time that evening, she was sent to jail.

"Damn it," she grumbled and put her piece in the jail.

"I can't believe you've had this game and you've never played it," said Gar as he rolled the dice.

"I bought it for my child," said Raven. "It looked like a good educational game dealing with money and property and what not. But I'll be damned if any of my offspring ever play this infernal game."

"Come on, you're just saying that cuz you're losing," said Gar as he bought yet another piece of property.

"No, I'm saying it because it's true," said Raven.

"Whatever," he chuckled. "So, you gonna try to roll doubles or pay the fine?"

"I'll just pay the damn fine," she said, throwing the money into the center of the board. "How much longer is this game going to take? We've already wasted an hour and a half on it."

"Well, the shortest game I've ever played lasted about three and a half hours," said Gar.

"What?!" said Raven. "I don't want to be stuck playing this goddamn game for another two hours!"

"Relax, Rae," he laughed. "We don't have to finish it, you know. We can stop any time we want. Of course, that'll mean you forfeit and I win automatically."

"But what if _you_ forfeit?" asked Raven. "Then I'll win."

"Yeah, like I'm gonna forfeit," he laughed. "This is the first time in my life I'm actually winning at a board game!"

"So, no matter what I'm going to lose?" asked Raven.

"Basically," he said smugly. "You can either forfeit now and go to bed on time or we can keep playing until you lose officially."

"You really are enjoying yourself, aren't you?" said Raven.

"You better believe it," he said, all smiles.

Raven couldn't help smiling a little bit as well. Never in her life had anyone treated her like she was a normal person. Even when she was little everyone was afraid of her because they knew who her father was. She never got to hang out with other children and play. She was trained to be a little adult; mature and to the point. This was all new to her. And she couldn't help liking it.

"Hey! You got Free Parking!" said Gar.

"What does that mean?" asked Raven.

"It means you get all of the money in the middle of the board," he said and pushed all of the money over to her.

"Wait a second, you mean something good's actually happened?" she asked, a bit confused.

"That's right," said Gar. "See? It's fun when you're doing good, huh?"

"I suppose," said Raven as she neatly counted up her money and put them in their organized little stacks. "But I still don't see how one could find enjoyment in this game."

"Okay, no more Monopoly for Rae," he chuckled. "You wanna quit?"

"Only if you say that you're forfeiting," said Raven.

"Oh, yeah, like that's gonna happen," said Gar, sarcastically. "I'm not forfeiting during my best game ever. Unless, that is, if you're a sore loser or something." He gave her a sly look that made her growl at him.

"I'm not a sore loser," said Raven.

"Then quit," he said.

"You quit," she said.

"Not gonna happen," he said.

"Well I'm not going to quit either then," said Raven stubbornly.

"Fine, but I should also let you know that the longest game of Monopoly I've ever played lasted ten hours," said Gar. "No breaks. And that was just three of us playing."

Raven paled, though it was hard to notice thanks to her fair skin. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Would these lips lie?" he asked, pointing to his mouth. "Come on, now, Rae. Just forfeit, there's no shame in it."

"I don't care if there's shame in it or not," she snapped, feeling like she was being cornered. "I just think you should be the gentleman and graciously bow out of the game."

"And who said I was a gentleman?" he laughed.

"I was hoping you would be, but it's quite clear that you're not," said Raven. "Pity; the thought of you being a gentleman was quite intriguing. But, oh well. If you're not then I guess I'll just push those thoughts out of my mind."

"Thoughts? What a second, what thoughts?" he asked, growing quite interested in what she was saying. "You mean, like, thoughts of us maybe, like, you know, becoming more than… friends?"

"I don't know," said Raven, shrugging. "But… maybe if you forfeit the game I'll tell you."

"Tell me what?" he asked, his heart racing.

"Whether the thoughts were about our friendship blooming into something more or not," she said, her eyes sly looking at him.

"Are… are you serious?" he asked.

"Forfeit and find out," she said.

Now he had quite a hard decision to make. He could forfeit and find out that Raven wanted to be more than friends, or he could forfeit and find out that she didn't. Or he could not forfeit and win his first game of Monopoly, but risk Raven not wanting him as more than a friend. Or he could win and she wouldn't feel any different about him. What was he to do?

He sighed and said, "Fine."

"Fine what?" asked Raven.

"Fine, I forfeit," he said. "You win."

"Thank God," said Raven, throwing her thimble into the box and beginning to clean up. "I never want to play this again. I'd rather read a book any day."

"Hey!" said Gar.

"Hey what?" she asked as she folded the board.

"You didn't tell me what your thoughts were about," he said.

"What thoughts?" she asked, innocently.

"The thoughts you had in your head about us!" he said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, smiling smugly to herself as she stood up and went to put the game back in the closet. "All I know is that I just won my first board game ever. It's true; they are all about strategy."

Gar stared at her blankly. "So… you said all of that just to get me to forfeit?" he asked.

"It worked, didn't it?" she said.

Gar's jaw dropped as the realization hit him. Then he began to smile. "Why you sly little witch!" he laughed. "I can't believe you did that to me!"

"Believe it, you pompous jackass," she said with a smirk.

"Wow, I never took you for the sly conniving sort," he said. "You sure are full of surprises. But, I gotta say, that was mean."

"Sorry," said Raven. "I just really wanted that game to be done and I wasn't about to put my pride on the line."

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed. "I knew it! I knew you didn't want to forfeit cuz it'd make you look bad!"

"Believe what you want," she shrugged. "The point is that I won, you lost, and I got to make you look like a fool while doing it."

"Awe, why you gotta hurt me?" he asked. "What'd I ever do to you?"

"Other than disrupt my life and make me rethink all of my principles?" she said. "Nothing much."

"Come on," he laughed. "I haven't disrupted your life."

"Oh, you most certainly have," she said. "Now come on, it's time for you to go."

"You're kicking me out?" he said as he followed her towards her door. "But I thought we were having fun!"

"We were," said Raven. "But it's my bedtime and you've been here for hours. I asked you here for dinner, not the night."

Gar sighed and said, "Okay, fine."

Raven walked him to the door and handed him the left over pizza, wrapped in plastic wrap. He was happy to take it home; it would distract Vic so he could go to bed without being badgered with questions about the evening. They came to the door and paused.

"Well, thanks for having me over," said Gar with a smile.

"Thank you for coming over and proving me wrong," said Raven.

"Proving you wrong?" asked Gar.

"Yes," said Raven, nodding. "I thought that if I let you in my home you'd break or steal something or laugh at me. But, you didn't. Thank you."

"Hey, no problem," he said. "Do I really come off as that kind of guy?"

"Probably not, but my people skills aren't exactly phenomenal," said Raven. "I used to think I was good at reading people, but after… well, I was very nervous about having you over. I'm so glad my instincts were right about you."

"And, just what do your instincts say about me?" he asked, curiously.

"That… you really are as kind and sweet as you appear to be," she said, a small blush painting her cheeks.

Gar couldn't help the feeling of his own cheeks blushing as well, not to mention the smile he couldn't control. He watched her bite her lip embarrassedly and continually look from the floor to his eyes to the floor. She was so cute. He knew that this was probably the first time someone had ever seen the cute side of Raven Roth.

And then their eyes connected and she didn't look away. And he couldn't look away from her. Their pulses began to race, their skin tingling with adrenaline and excitement. Their breath quickened as their eyes finally pulled away from each other and stared at the others lips. The air around them seemed to contract, to bring them closer together. And then, when he was sure she wasn't going to reject him, Gar took the initiative and reached for her lips with his own.

The connection of their lips sent shivers of fire throughout their bodies. He massaged her soft, supple lips with his own to his utter delight. Raven felt as if she was no longer connected to her body as his lips danced with hers. She couldn't help but notice the gentleness of his kisses as well as the slight stubble of his upper lip. She hadn't been touched in so long, kissed in even longer. She couldn't help but melt.

After a few seconds of sheer bliss Gar released her lips from his and they stood frozen for a few more seconds, their lips now only millimeters from still touching. Slowly they pulled back and their eyes met again. Raven finally felt herself coming back and her insecurities swarmed her mind once more. She looked nervously into Gar's eyes, but only saw him look at her sweetly and then he smiled.

"I'll see ya later, Rae," he said softly and opened her door, exiting soon after.

He walked out to his car and calmly got in. He turned it on and once his radio was blasting let out a scream of victory and joy. He did a little jig in his seat and then proceeded to pull out of her long driveway. It had been a very good night.


	10. Regret?

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 10: Regret?

Vic knew something had happened; though it wasn't very hard to figure that out. Gar had come home the night before, smiling madly and looking like he was going to bust at the seams. He was about to ask what had happened when he had four slices of pizza thrown at him, which quickly absorbed his attention. He later cursed the pizza for distracting him.

Now he sat in the apartment, waiting for Gar to come home from the zoo. No, it wasn't that he didn't have a life. He was just excited that Gar was finally getting one. Not to mention the fact that his best friend might be getting it on with The Malchior Widow. This was far better than any soap opera… not that he ever watched them… he claimed.

Finally the doorknob turned and the door swung open, revealing a tired, but still happy, Gar. Vic was on his feet in an instant. Gar wasn't too surprised to see him waiting for him to come home.

"Alright, spill!" he said.

"Spill what?" said Gar, innocently.

"What happened last night?" asked Vic. "What'd y'all do? Did ya really go in her house?"

"Oh yeah, I went in her house," said Gar with a smile. "And, dude, she lives in a mansion!"

"I coulda figured that out," said Vic, rolling his eyes. "So what'd ya'll do?"

"She cooked dinner, but we couldn't eat it cuz she didn't know I was a vegetarian, so we ordered a pizza," said Gar. "Then we played Monopoly and after that I went home."

"That's it?" he asked, not very impressed.

"I did get to snoop around her house for a bit," said Gar. "She's got, like, more rooms then there are habitats at the zoo! You woulda cried if you'd seen her home theater. I don't even think she watches TV and this system has gotta be worth ten grand at least! And, of course, she's got a massive library."

"Wow, so did she, like, give ya a tour?" asked Vic.

"No, she let me wander around while she took care of some business," said Gar. "I saw her bedroom and everything! Not to mention a picture of her and Malchior from their wedding. You could just tell from the picture that he was an asshole. I don't know why she wants to remain faithful to him."

"Say what now?" asked Vic.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it," said Gar. "She says that cuz she was married she can never ever be with any other guy. I told her that was stupid and that just led to an hour long conversation. But, I think I might be slowly breaking her."

"Really? How ya figure?" asked Vic.

"Well," said Gar, smiling smugly. "I mighta given her a goodnight kiss last night and she totally didn't object."

Vic stared at him for a moment, his jaw slightly open. Then, he seemed to explode. "What?! Are you shittin me?!" he exclaimed. "You kissed her? You actually kissed her? How was it?"

"Oh my God, better than I ever thought it could be!" said Gar, doing his best not to gush.

"I can't believe it," said Vic. "I mean I _really_ can't believe it! _You_ kissed Raven Roth!"

"_I_ kissed Raven Roth," said Gar, smugly.

"So, when ya gonna see her again?" asked Vic.

"I dunno," said Gar. "I figured I'd let her miss me for a little bit."

"Ooh, good strategy," said Vic. "Although, ya may just be givin her enough time to realize what a mistake lettin you kiss her was."

"Why you gotta always ruin my good moments in life?" asked Gar.

"Hey, I'm just warnin ya," said Vic.

"Well, I'm gonna hope you're wrong and she does actually miss me," said Gar. "I really want this to work out. I really like her, Vic. I mean, I haven't felt this way since… well…"

"Tara?" said Vic.

Gar was quiet for a moment. "Yeah," he said. "But, even more so now. I mean, I think it's all real this time. I think she actually likes me, too."

"Well, I hope it works out, man," said Vic.

"Yeah, me too," said Gar with a smile.

And so now he had to somehow keep himself from running to the lounge to see her. But, God, how he wanted to. He couldn't get her off of his mind. He replayed the kiss over and over in his mind. But he also couldn't get Vic's words out of his mind. What if she did regret it? What was he going to do if she never wanted to see him again? What if she got a restraining order against him and had her mob connections come after him and…

He decided to just stop thinking negatively. There was just as good a chance that she did like him and had enjoyed the kiss just as him. Maybe he had actually gotten through to her that it was alright to forget about Malchior and move on with her love life. Not only that, but that it was alright to interact with people in general. She was so secluded in her little world of books. He had to bring her out of that.

He had been twitchy the whole day, trying to suppress his need to see her again. He was glad he had work to do at the zoo. He only led a few tours half of the day, and the other half he was talking to the people in charge. He gave them the plans he'd worked out on how to use the $10 million that Raven had donated. And they were all impressed. They liked his ideas and when they heard that if more money was needed he could get it, they whole heartedly agreed to everything he offered.

"Dudes, I don't think my life's ever been so good," he said to his pets as he fed them. "For once, everything's looking up."

He changed out of his uniform and into some more comfortable clothing. He looked at Ravens number that was sitting on his desk. Oh, how he wanted to call her. To hear her voice and know what was on her mind. He wanted to touch her again, to feel her breath on his lips once more. Her lips had been so sweet, so perfect. He'd kissed a couple girls since Tara, he was, after all, human… and a guy. But they were just out of lust. They didn't really mean anything to him. But the one he'd shared with Raven was full of meaning.

Suddenly his thoughts were shattered when he heard his cell phone ring. He quickly grabbed for it and answered.

"Hello?" he asked, not recognizing the number that showed on the screen.

"H-Hello, Gar," said a soft, hesitant voice.

"Rae?" he asked, excited and curious. "Hey, what's up?"

"Oh, uh… nothing," she said. The line went silent for a few moments. "You?"

"Nothing much at the moment," he said. "I got off work a little while ago and I was just relaxing, that's all."

"I hope I'm not disturbing you," she said.

"Nah, I don't do anything worth disturbing," he chuckled. "So… why'd you call?"

"Oh, well, uh," she stuttered. This didn't sound like her at all. "I… don't really know. I just… never mind. Sorry to have bothered you."

"Wait!" he said quickly, before she could hang up. "Don't go so quickly. We can just… talk, ya know?"

"I… suppose we could," said Raven. "Though, I'm not sure what we could talk about. I think we've touched upon everything at this point."

"Well… we could talk about last night," he said, nervously.

"W-What about last night?" she asked, and he could hear the nervousness in her voice as well.

"Well, uh, I had a good time," he said.

"Yes, I did to," she said.

"And, uh, I was kinda wondering what you thought about… the ending," he said.

"Oh," was her reply. "Well… I… that is… it was… alright… I suppose."

"So, you're not mad at me about it?" he asked.

"Why would I be mad?" she asked.

"Well, after all you said about being faithful to your husband and how you would never be with another man, I kissed you," said Gar. "I made you go against your principles. I was just scared that you would hate me for it."

"Gar… it would be very hard for me to hate you at this point," said Raven. "I've only known you for a short while and you've already shown me more compassion and friendship then I've ever experienced in my entire life. And you've made me feel things… things I never thought I would feel… _could_ feel. Hate is something I don't _want_ to feel for you."

Gar was almost left speechless by her words. Here he had thought she would hate him for what he'd done. But there wasn't an ounce of regret in her voice. She sounded a bit confused and overwhelmed by it all, but not unhappy about it.

"I'm really glad to hear that, Rae," he said, doing his best to sound somewhat normal and not giddy. "So, you wanna do something tomorrow?"

"Like what?" Raven asked.

"I don't know," said Gar. "What would you be comfortable with?"

"Not much," she said; a slight chuckle in her voice. That slight chuckle sounded like bells to Gar's ears.

"Well, we could break in your home theater," Gar suggested.

"How do you know I haven't used it?" she asked.

"Come on, Rae," he laughed.

"Alright, I haven't used it before," she confessed. "I don't even know why Malchior bought the damn thing. He never used it either. I guess it was just for show. A lot of the things he bought were just for impressing people."

"Well, we might as well use it," said Gar. "You wanna watch a movie?"

"I guess," said Raven. "But I haven't seen many. Can you choose one to watch?"

"Sure," said Gar. "What kinda movies do you like?"

"I don't know," said Raven. "Like I said, I haven't seen many."

"Well, what kinda books do you like?" he asked.

"I like fantasy books, actually," said Raven.

"Then I'll bring a fantasy movie," said Gar. "And we can order pizza again."

"That sounds good," said Raven.

"Cool, it's a date," he said. As soon as the words left his lips he wanted to take them back. Damn his mouth!

"O-O-Okay then," said Raven, sounding a bit caught off guard.

'Wait a second,' he thought. 'Did she just agree? Is this really gonna be a… date? Holy shit, we're actually having a date!'

"Yeah, uh, so I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, his heart racing from the thoughts that had just run through his mind. "I'll come over at, like, seven. Sound good?"

"Yes," she said; her voice still a little shaky. "That sounds good. I'll see you then."

"'kay, uh, bye then," he said.

"Goodbye," said Raven and he heard her hang up her phone.

He turned his cell phone off and calmly placed it back on his desk. Then he screamed at the top of his lungs, "YES!!!"

The sound of heavy footsteps running from one end of the apartment to the other echoed through the whole building. Vic threw Gar's door open, looking startled. "What? What the hell's goin on?"

"Dude, I got a date!" he said, grabbing his best friend by the shoulders. "She agreed and we're having a date tomorrow!"

"Wait a second, you got a date with Raven?" asked Vic.

"Yeah!" said Gar, shaking Vic back and forth. "I can't believe. An hour ago I thought she hated me and now I know that she totally likes me and we're having an official date tomorrow. Dear God, somebody pinch me! OW!" Gar grabbed his arm, which Vic had just pinched very hard. "Dude! Now I'll have a bruise!"

"Baby," said Vic, rolling his eyes and leaving Gar to dance around in victory.


	11. A Dreadful Dinner

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 11: A Dreadful Dinner

It had been a great night. No, an amazing night. Hell, the best damn night either had ever experienced in their entire lives! Gar had brought a few movies over and the two spent hours watching them and eating pizza. Raven made sure to say various times that she didn't see how people could prefer movies to books, but Gar found her quite quiet during the movies. He knew she wasn't ready to admit she liked them, but he knew she did. Sometimes, things were better left unsaid.

They had begun sitting a comfortable distance apart on her couch. But, as the time went on, slowly they gravitated towards one another. Soon their arms were touching and shivers ran through both of them. Then Gar did his patented stretch and yawn move and hesitantly placed his arm around her. And she didn't do anything! She allowed it to happen.

And then, again, at the end of the night they had shared another kiss. Gar had been a little braver this time, as was Raven. It lasted a little longer and was a tad more passionate, helping to strengthen the feelings of affection between them. And then, when the kiss ended, Gar saw Raven bite her lip and try to suppress a sweet, embarrassed smile.

This was all a week ago. During the week they'd seen each other twice more, both times at the lounge, and the last time he'd asked and convinced her to come with him to a dinner with his friends. This was a very large step that neither was sure she was ready to take, but she had agreed. She was trying, and that was all that mattered to him.

"Are you sure I look alright?" she asked, nervously. She was in a knee length black skirt with a blue, short sleeved collard shirt. But she was mostly covered, at the moment, by a long blue coat.

"You like fine," he laughed.

"I just don't want them to think that I think I'm better than them," said Raven.

"Rae, don't worry," he said, gently taking her hand as they walked towards the restaurant. "If they accepted me, they're gonna accept you no problem."

"Alright, if you say so," said Raven, not very reassured.

The two walked into the restaurant and saw Kori and Dick sitting and waiting on a bench. The two smiled upon seeing them and stood up.

"Hey guys," said Gar.

"Hey Gar," said Dick, shaking his hand.

"Hello friend Garfield!" said Kori, wrapping her hands around him.

"Uh, this is Raven," said Gar once Kori released him. He wrapped his arm softly around Raven's waist, smiling. It wasn't to show that she was his; it was to give her support and let her know that he was there for her. "Raven, this is Dick and Kori."

"I-It's nice to meet you," said Raven, sticking her hand out and doing her best to look comfortable with the situation.

"And it is very nice to meet you," said Kori, clasping Ravens hand within hers. "We are so very glad you could join us." Raven didn't really like the tone of this young woman's voice. She sounded as if she… felt bad for her. As if underneath her words she was really saying, 'You poor thing.' She didn't like it.

"Where's Vic?" asked Gar.

"I don't know," said Dick. "Probably just running late."

"Figures," said Gar. "I'm starving."

"As am I," said Kori in agreement. "What about you, Raven? Are you not hungry as well?"

"Oh, well, I guess I am a little hungry," said Raven, who was never very good at small talk. "I'm not starving, though."

"Lucky," said Gar, holding his grumbling stomach.

Five minutes later Vic arrived, apologizing and cursing the city's traffic. They waited a few more minutes and a table finally opened up for them. Gar had never felt Raven so close to him before; not that he was complaining. But he knew it was because she was nervous and felt out of place.

As they arrived to their table Dick pulled Kori's chair out for her and Gar did the same for Raven. Vic mocked them by pulling his seat out for no one, then sitting down in it like he was a lady and scooting himself in. This got a giggle from Kori.

"Dude, I hope they bring bread out," said Gar, stuffing his napkin into the collar of his shirt.

"Me too," said Vic. "I'm starvin."

"But you should not fill up on the bread," said Kori.

"Don't bother, Kor," said Dick. "They always fill up on bread."

"Yeah, but then we get to take our meals home and, voila! we have lunch for tomorrow," said Gar with a smile.

"You aren't seriously just going to have bread for dinner, are you?" asked Raven.

"No way!" said Gar with a smile. "They have the best garden salads here."

"Yeah, leave it to the grass stain to just order a 'manly' salad," said Vic, rolling his eyes.

"Grass stain?" said Raven.

"Yeah, that's our nickname for him," said Vic with a smile.

"One that I'm not particularly fond of," Gar snarled.

"Hey, you're the one who died his hair green," said Vic.

"He does have a point," said Raven.

"Whatever," said Gar, who was getting a bit grumpy since his blood sugar was so low.

"So, Raven, ya gonna make him die his hair a natural color?" asked Vic.

"Why would I do that?" asked Raven.

"Well, we just thought that someone of your… stature wouldn't want a boyfriend with green hair," said Dick.

"B-Boyfriend?" said Raven.

"Uh, where's our waitress?" said Gar loudly, looking around in a panic.

"Yes, Garfield is your boyfriend, is he not?" asked Kori.

"Oh, well, um," Raven stuttered, a blush running from one cheek, over her nose, to the other.

"Hey, you guys see how fancy the menus look?" said Gar, trying to change the subject.

"I think it is great that after such a tragic relationship you could find it in your heart to give Garfield a chance," said Kori.

"Huh?" said Raven, quite flustered.

"Yeah, I mean, we never thought you'd go for someone like Gar," said Dick. "Hell, I don't think we'd ever consider that we'd be dining with you."

"And just why is that?" asked Raven.

"Come on, girl," said Vic. "You're like a celebrity and we're just average folk."

"Can we get some bread over here?" Gar called out to the room, hoping one of the waiters would hear him.

"Well, if it makes a difference, I don't feel like a celebrity," said Raven.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you aren't one," said Dick.

"And we are most glad you are here," said Kori with a smile. "You have had such a sad life it is nice that we can show you a nice time."

"Can we get some goddamn bread over here?!" Gar shouted and pounded the table, causing everyone in the restaurant to stop what they were doing and stare at him.

"Jesus, Gar, ya that hungry?" asked Vic.

"Here you are, sir," said a waitress who had run over as quickly as she could.

"Thanks," said Gar, feeling very embarrassed. This night was not going very well.

They put in orders for drinks and Gar and Vic began their assault on the breadbasket. Raven had taken to staring down at the table cloth, counting the individual threads. Anything to keep from making eye contact with the others and encouraging them to speak. But, she learned, they didn't need to see her to talk to her.

"So, Gar says ya live in a mansion," said Vic.

"I guess you could call it that," said Raven, modestly.

"How many rooms?" Dick asked.

"Thirty-four," said Raven. "Though I only live in three of them."

"Then why don't ya move to a smaller house?" asked Vic. "The bills gotta be murder."

Everyone seemed to tense up as Vic said this and they looked to Raven to see what her reaction would be. Raven remained calm and decided to ignore the statement, knowing he hadn't meant anything by it.

"Actually, they're not that bad," said Raven. "The most expensive thing I have running is the pool and…"

"Wait a second, you got a pool?" asked Gar.

"Yes, didn't you see it?" asked Raven.

"No!" said Gar. "Cool! Oh, I'm so going swimming."

"Gar, how could ya miss somethin like a pool?" asked Vic.

"I dunno," said Gar. "I thought I'd seen the whole place."

"Guess not," said Dick.

Suddenly the air didn't seem so thick and everyone relaxed a little bit. They each ordered their meals and the night went on a bit more smoothly. Raven was given numerous compliments on the lounge and how much they loved going there. She even asked them what they thought she could do to make it better and they gave her a few choice ideas. Gar was so relieved.

"So, Raven, how many books have you read?" asked Dick.

"I'm not sure I even know," said Raven. "I tried to count how many I read a month, but I've read so many I couldn't remember what I read that month or the one before. I'll just round it off and say thousands."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Gar chuckled.

"Raven, may I ask you a question?" asked Kori.

"Okay," said Raven.

"What did you think of marriage?" asked Kori.

Gar nearly choked on his drink and the air immediately thickened again.

"W-Why do you ask?" asked Raven, not looking comfortable.

"Oh, Richard and I have been talking about perhaps getting married one day," said Kori. "And since you are the only one of us who has been married I thought I could ask you. You do not mind, correct? I am only asking what you thought of being married, not about how it ended. Oh! And what did you think of being pregnant? I would like to have a child soon after we are married, but Richard would like us to wait. Please, tell him that it is wonderful to have a child. Oh, I am sorry! I did not mean to say it like that. Please, forgive me!"

Now all eyes were on Raven again. She felt her heart begin to race and she wanted to hide away. She wished she had the power of teleportation. She knew this was going to happen. She knew they would bring up her past.

"Uh, Kori, we only discussed marriage once," said Dick, trying to fix the situation. But the damage was done.

"I know, but-," started Kori.

"Hey, why don't we just drop it," said Vic. "It's obvious that Raven doesn't like talking about this stuff."

"I did not mean to make you upset, Raven," said Kori. "Please do not send the men of the mob after me!"

"Excuse me?!" said Raven, quite taken back by that statement.

"Is that not what you do when you are upset?" asked Kori. "Victor, was that not what you told me Raven would do if she got upset with us?"

"Oh, so that's how everyone sees me, do they?" said Raven. "Just because my father and husband were in the mafia must mean I'm one too, right?" She put her jacket on and stood up. "Excuse me; I'm going back to my mansion to hold a meeting with my mobster hit men. Have a nice fucking evening." And with that she stormed out of the restaurant.

"Thanks a lot you guys," Gar growled as he jumped up and went after her.

It was quiet between the three who remained at the table. "Was it something I said?" asked Kori.


	12. I Want to be Alone

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 12: I Want to be Alone…

Raven was snarling as she stomped her way down the street. She knew people would never accept her and forget about her past. It wasn't fair; it just wasn't fair. "Raven!" she heard someone call out. But she wasn't about to turn around.

Gar ran as fast as he could and caught up to her. "Rae, I'm so sorry," said Gar upon reaching her.

"Go away," she said coldly.

"Come on, I'm just as mad as you are," said Gar. "Please, just stop."

"No, I'm going home," she said and continued on her way.

Gar quickly got in front of her and stopped her. "Okay, I'll drive you home," he said. "There's no reason you should walk all the way."

"Gar, I just want to be alone right now," she said, looking off to the side. She'd yet to look him in the eyes.

"I know, but I don't want you to be alone right now," said Gar. "I don't want you to hide like a turtle in its shell just cuz of what some dumbass people said."

"Those 'dumbass people' are your friends," she said.

"Ha! Not anymore," said Gar. "I would never be friends with anyone who'd make you upset."

"I don't want you to give up your friend just because of me," said Raven.

"_Just_ because of you?" said Gar. "_Just_? Rae, you mean so much to me if anyone ever said anything bad about you I'd kick their ass!"

"Gar, just stop it!" said Raven, quite upset now. "How can you say that? I mean so much to you? You've only known me for two months!"

"So?" said Gar. "Rae, just because I feel this way about you now doesn't mean I'm not gonna feel this way about you in a month or a year. You say that I've shown you things no one's ever shown you before like compassion and friendship. Well, you've shown me things too! The first time we actually talked you saw right through my charade and into who I really am. You're the first person who's ever done that, Rae! Do you really think I'm just gonna stand on the sidelines while people badmouth you? Like I said, you mean too much to me."

Raven finally couldn't stand it any longer and looked into his eyes. She hated his eyes. She hated them because she loved them. They could level her without any effort. She suddenly realized that while he was talking he had taken her hands into his and was now holding them.

"Gar," she said.

"Yeah?" said Gar.

"Take me home, please," she said.

"Okay," he said and began to lead her back to the car, keeping one of her hands linked with his.

As they walked Raven felt an odd calm come over her. She couldn't help but look at Gar differently now. He really did care about her and was willing to protect her. No one had ever done that before. She'd been taught to take care of herself; that no one would ever be there for her. And now this man was willing to give up his friends for her because they had made her feel bad. Was there really such a thing? Did people really do this for people they care about?

On the drive home Gar could feel that there was something different about Raven now. She seemed a little more… relaxed. Her very energy had changed from untrusting and cold to comfortable and at peace. He wasn't sure what had brought on the change, but he liked it.

"Again, I'm really sorry about tonight," he said.

"Don't worry about it," Raven sighed. "I knew it was going to happen, but I was hoping that they'd be different, like you."

"Well, I'm gonna have a serious talk with them," said Gar. "Don't you worry about it. And it's my fault, really. I knew you weren't ready to hang out with other people yet, but I was so excited about you I just wanted to show you off."

"Show me off?" said Raven. "Am I a prize now?"

"Uh, no, that's not what I-," he began, but he saw that Raven was slyly smiling at him. "Why yes… yes, I do consider you a prize. Is there a problem with that?"

"I don't know," Raven shrugged. "I've never been a prize before."

"Rae, you're the grand prize," said Gar with a proud smile.

"That was possibly the cheesiest thing I've ever heard," said Raven, shaking her head.

"It was not!" said Gar.

"Are you kidding?" said Raven. "I've had triple cheese pizzas that were less cheesy than that line."

"Well well," said Gar. "Looks like Raven Roth's got a sense of humor as well."

"As well?" said Raven. "Who said you had a sense of humor?"

"Hey!" objected Gar. "I'm the funny guy! That's, like, my thing, ya know?"

"I would say you're more like the backtrack guy," said Raven.

"The what?" Gar asked.

"You know, the guy who says stupid, embarrassing things and then quickly tries to backtrack," said Raven.

"Huh, I've never even heard of that," said Gar. "How come you know more about group dynamics than I do? You don't even have any frie-." He stopped mid word and knew he'd just crossed a line. "Uh, that is, um, you're not as well versed in, uh, friend-like situations and, uh…" Raven let out a small chuckle that quickly caught his attention as he rambled on.

"Wow, I've never been proven right so quickly before," she said, quite amused.

Gar felt quite embarrassed and decided to just stare at the road so that Raven couldn't see his blushing cheeks. But Raven still saw it, though she decided not to call attention to it. The fact was that she was right, and that's all she needed. They remained quiet all the way back to her home.

Gar drove down the long driveway and parked in front of the mansion. He was upset that he hadn't gotten to spend much time with her, but as long as she was happy that was all that mattered. But little did he know Raven felt the same way.

"Do you want to come in for a little while?" asked Raven as she undid her seatbelt.

"Uh…" Gar thought, trying to think of the right answer.

"Let me rephrase that," said Raven. "Would you please come in for a little while? I know I said I wanted to be alone earlier, but the truth is… I would like to be alone… with you."

He saw her pale features pinken and she looked quite cute in that moment. He smiled and turned the car off. "I'd love to come in, then," he said and got out. Raven did her best to suppress the smile that was trying to bust through.

As they got inside Raven immediately took off her shoes and let out a sigh of relief. "Heals are hell," she said, limping as she walked from her aching feet.

"Glad I don't have to wear them," Gar chuckled.

"Yeah, that'd be an interesting sight," said Raven, taking her coat off.

The two took off their coats, Gar slipped his own shoes off as well, and raided Ravens fridge for some left over pizza, since they had barely gotten to eat their dinners at the restaurant.

"You don't have work tomorrow, right?" asked Raven.

"No, it's Sunday," said Gar. "Why? You expecting me to stay the night?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her at this, to which she rolled her eyes.

"No, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to keep you out when you should be in bed," said Raven.

"Oh," said Gar, feeling a little disappointed.

"Did you honestly think I would sleep with you?" she asked bluntly.

"Uh, well, ya know, not really but, um, I was just, uh, hoping I guess," he stuttered.

"You're not getting into my pants so easily, Mr. Logan," said Raven, taking a bite out of her warmed up pizza. He was eating his cold.

"Yeah I know," said Gar. "But, that kinda means there's a chance right?"

"Now do you think a woman like my self would reveal such information?" said Raven. "You're lucky you've gotten to kiss me the few times that you did."

"Oh, so you're saying you don't like it when I kiss you," Gar countered.

"Well… that's not the issue here," said Raven quickly. "The point is that I shouldn't have let it happen at all, so you've been as lucky as you're going to get."

"Rae, come on," said Gar. "How much is it gonna take for me to convince you that your vows to Malchior don't matter anymore?"

"I know that," said Raven. "Don't you think I'd have realized that by now?"

"Then why are you still so caught up on it?" asked Gar, confused.

"Because it's the only excuse I have to not be courted by any other men," said Raven.

"And why don't you want that?" asked Gar.

"Because I don't want to get hurt again, of course," said Raven. "And I don't want to get my hopes up. As long as I believe that the vows are still binding it pushes any ridiculous thoughts of future romance out of my mind."

Gar sighed and said, "Rae, I know that it's hard to forget about the past. And I know that it's scary when you think into the future. But you can't let things like this take over your life. That's what I learned from Tara and that's what you can learn from Malchior. Please, forget about what's happened and start over. I'm here now and I promise I will never hurt or deceive you." He then took her hands and said, "All I ask is that you return the favor. Do you think you can do that for me?"

Once again, Raven found herself lost in his eyes. She really did curse them to hell. He was so pure, so trusting, so caring, so… perfect. He was every young woman's dream of the ideal man. She found herself questioning why he was putting so much effort into being with _her_ of all people. What did she have to offer him? Other than baggage and a contrary attitude.

But, she could give him what he wanted. If he promised to never hurt or deceive her, she would undoubtedly promise the same thing. That was all that she wanted in life. For someone to actually take care of her for once; to hold her and tell her that everything would be alright. To protect her and, dare she say it, love her. Gar was promising all of this right here and right now. He was saying all that she wanted to hear.

"I… I can do that," she said, her voice wavering from all of the thoughts that were running through her mind.

Gar smiled and said, "Thank you." Then he leaned down and kissed her.

Raven wasn't sure what it was about his kisses, but they filled her body with a heated tingling sensation that she had never experienced before. And she liked it; she really liked it. Gar began to back his lips away from hers, but Raven leaned forward and made sure they did not disconnect. She then placed her arms around his neck, keeping him from going anywhere.

Gar was quite shocked by her actions, but that's not to say he didn't like it. If she wanted to keep kissing then, by God, they would keep kissing. He held her close and intensified the kisses; meshing her lips almost brutally and quickening the pace. He would pull back and give her quick kisses, then give her long kisses that seemed to hypnotize her lips.

Raven wasn't sure why she was allowing all of this. Perhaps it was because she had been longing to be touched again. Perhaps it was because she was desperate. Or it could have been because this man made her feel things no other man had ever made her feel. She let one of her arms that was draped around his neck retreat and run down the length of his chest to his stomach. Lord his body felt good!

Gar felt Raven begin to feel his body and decided he might as well take the same liberty. He moved one of his hands that had been resting on her lower back, keeping her close to him, to her front and felt up her waist and then, slowly and cautiously, cupped one of her breasts. When she did nothing more than give a slight, if not a little shocked, moan he began to gingerly and gently massage it.

By this point Gar had backed her up against the counter where he leaned into her. The feel of her body pressed up against his felt oh so good. He broke the kiss from her lips and kissed her cheek, then went down the length of her neck and collarbone. All the while he continued to squeeze and rub her breast. And all the while she continued to give off soft moans as he did so.

Finally he made it back up to her lips and gave her one last strong kiss, ceasing the attention he'd been giving to her chest. He pulled away from her and the two made eye contact. Their breathing was quick, near panting. The adrenaline pumping through their veins made them shake gently as they still held each other in a now loosening embrace.

Gar gave her a small smile and said, "I think I better be getting home. Vic's gonna kill me if I get in too late."

"Yeah," was the only response Raven could pronounce as she stood there in a daze as Gar released his hold of her. She felt quite dizzy and as he left the kitchen to exit the mansion she found herself grabbing onto the counter to keep her shaking legs steady.


	13. A Storm Brewing

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 13: A Storm Brewing

"Look, man, I'm sorry 'bout what happened," said Vic. "We really didn't mean to make either of y'all upset."

"Upset?!" said Gar. "Dude, I'm totally beyond upset. I'm fucking pissed, that's what I am."

Gar had come home from work, taken a shower, and now the two were talking for the first time since the incident at the restaurant the night before. And he was obviously still heated about it.

"I know and we're all sorry," said Vic. "Kori can't stop crying about it! Look, I think we were all just so nervous we couldn't help but let some stuff slip."

"Yeah, well, that still doesn't make up for the fact that you hurt her feelings," said Gar. "After all I've done to get her to open up you guys almost ruin all of my work."

"Man, how many times I gotta say sorry?" asked Vic.

"Dude, you're gonna be saying it for a while," said Gar grabbing his coat and keys. "Cuz I'm gonna be pissed for a while. Just do me a favor and stay outta my way for a few days."

"Gotcha," said Vic with less than enthusiastic thumbs up as Gar left the apartment.

Raven rocked back and forth, reading yet another book. It was a rainy day and these were the best days to read. Of course she would never let anyone know that when she was home she chose to read in a rocking chair… in the nursery. As sad as losing her baby was, the nursery itself made her feel happy. It was so bright, cheerful, and calming. She remembered how happy she'd been when she was pregnant. It was really the happiest she'd ever been.

Suddenly she heard one of her telephones begin the ring; and it was the one her front gate guard used. She placed her book down and made the trek all the way down to the kitchen where her phones were. She finally reached it and answered.

"Yes?" she said.

"Are you expecting Garfield Logan?" asked Sam.

"No," said Raven, a bit confused.

"Do you want me to let him in?" he asked.

"Uh, yes, thank you," she said and then hung up. Why was Gar here? She did a quick check in the mirror, not really sure why she cared if she looked presentable or not, and went to the door. She opened it and watched as Gar drove up the driveway through the rain and parked. He stepped out and gave her a smile.

"Hey!" he said and waved.

"Hello," she said, crossing her arms. "Why the unannounced visit?"

"I was thinking you could show me this pool of yours," he said, taking a towel and bathing suit out of his car.

Raven sighed and said, "Fine, but from now on call before you come over."

"Will do," he said and happily entered her home.

Raven took him down a hallway that he hadn't even known existed and it led to a gym. From the gym an indoor pool was visible. He was quite shocked that he hadn't seen any of this. What other rooms existed in this mansion that he still didn't know about?

"So, you coming in with me?" he asked.

"No thank you," said Raven.

"Come on, I can't swim alone," said Gar.

"You're lucky I'm going to let you swim at all," said Raven.

"Please?" he pleaded.

Raven thought for a moment then said, "Fine, I'll go change and meet you in there."

"Uh… cool!" he said, shocked at how quickly she'd given in. He headed down to the pool, found a bathroom near it, and changed into his own suit. Once done he took no time in jumping right in. The water was perfect and he let out a contented sigh as he surfaced. He quickly took a deep breath and swam down as far as he could. He could barely reach the bottom! He swam back up and nearly didn't make it. Luckily he did and he swam over to the shallower end. "Dude, this place needs a slide."

"I'm not putting in a slide," said Raven. He twisted around and saw Raven placing her towel on a chair. She was in a black one piece bathing suit that left everything to the imagination. He expected nothing less.

"Come on, a slide would be awesome!" said Gar.

"No," she said simply and went over to the wall. She pushed a button and then went over to the hot tub that was attached to the pool.

"Hey, you said you'd come swimming!" said Gar, swimming over to it. "That's not swimming, that's soaking."

"I never said I'd go swimming," said Raven. "Besides, I like it better in here."

"Oh fine," he said and continued to swim about.

Raven relaxed into the hot tub, as she did every once in a while, allowing the bubbles and hot water sooth her tense muscles. She watched as Gar swam a few laps, then climbed out and did a canon ball. He always looked to her to see if she would yell at him, like a child afraid of a parent's watchful eye. But Raven decided that she might as well let him do as he pleased. So what if he got the whole place soaking wet? It was a pool room after all. Someone had to enjoy it.

After a while of swimming by himself, and showing off to Raven, he decided to join her. He swam over to her and began to crawl into the hot tub, splashing cool pool water onto her. He thrashed around a bit to get himself in and nearly kicked her. Once he was in he played it cool again and casually sat back.

"Ah, this is nice," he said, closing his eyes.

Raven just glared at him. She was now completely soaking wet, thanks to his ungraceful dive into the hot tub. She soon relaxed and went back to enjoying herself. The two sat in silence for a while, the only sound being the constant hum of the hot tub and the bubbles that surfaced. Gar cracked one eye open and looked over at Raven. It was nice to see her relaxed for once.

"I know you're looking at me," said Raven.

Gar quickly closed his eye and said, "No I'm not."

"The correct response to that question is 'What?'," said Raven.

"Huh?" asked Gar, opening his eyes.

"Exactly," said Raven.

"Wait… I'm confused," said Gar.

Raven opened her eyes and said, "If I say, 'I know you're looking at me,' and you're not then the correct response would have been, 'What?' because you wouldn't know where such a random comment was coming from. But, because you denied that you were then that proves that you were. Understand?"

"Uh… I guess," said Gar.

Raven sighed and said, "Never mind. Anyway, don't stare at me."

"Fine, I won't," said Gar. "Though I don't know why it bothers you so much. I love it when girls stare at me."

"I'm sure you do," said Raven standing up. "Well, I'm done."

"What? Already?" he asked.

"You're not supposed to be in here for too long," said Raven. "Besides, I don't want to get too pruned."

"Fine," he sighed and climbed out as well.

"Just because I'm getting out doesn't mean you have to get out," said Raven, grabbing her towel and beginning to dry off.

"Yes it does," said Gar. "I can't swim alone and I know you probably don't wanna watch me. So, if you're getting out then I'm getting out."

"Wow, that's… very smart of you," said Raven. "What I mean is, you know that you're not supposed to go swimming alone or without someone else there to supervise you."

"Yeah, who doesn't know that?" said Gar. "Just cuz we're adults doesn't mean we have any less chance of drowning."

Raven felt herself smile a little and she quickly turned away and continued to dry herself. Maybe he wasn't as immature as she thought. "So, what should we do now?" she asked.

"I dunno," said Gar, shrugging. "Is it okay if I hang around for a while?"

"I guess," said Raven.

"Well, I wasn't sure since I just kinda dropped in," said Gar. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"I was just reading," said Raven.

"Coulda guessed that," he laughed. "You do love to read."

"I do," she said.

"Maybe I should go then," said Gar. "Let you get back to reading."

"You don't have to go," she said. "I can read at any time. Besides… it's nice having you here."

Gar stopped drying off his head and said, "Really?"

"Well… the house just doesn't seem as big when you're around," she said, making sure not to make eye contact with him.

Gar smiled and said, "Well, then I'll stick around for a little while."

Again, Raven felt herself smiling. She quickly hid it and finished drying off and went to get changed. Once she'd left, Gar changed back into his clothes as well. And he felt a fire burning inside of him. Raven liked having him around. She would rather be with him than be alone. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, he now knew she liked him.

"Wow," said Gar, looking outside. It was pouring rain, the wind was blowing harshly, and thunder could be heard in the distance. "Did you know a storm was coming?"

"I heard something about one, yes," said Raven, placing tea bags into two cups.

"Mind if I go check the news to see how long it'll last?" he asked.

"No, go ahead," she said going to her instant boiling water tap in her sink.

Gar made his way to the home theater and turned the television on. He flipped through the hundreds of channels until he finally found the local weather channel. He took a seat and listened to what the weather man had to say.

"…again, this is a severe thunderstorm and will be in the area for the rest of the day and far into the night," said the weatherman's voice as a map of the local are was shown. "There's going to be some major flooding, so get your basements prepared. The wind's already causing damage so if you live near any large, unstable trees I'd be cautious."

Gar didn't like the sound of any of this at all. Just then Raven walked in with two cups of tea. She handed one to him and sat down.

"Thanks," he said, taking a sip. It was extra sweet, just the way he liked it.

"You're welcome," she said. "So, how's the weather look?"

"Not too good," said Gar, turning the volume up.

She watched silently and sipped her tea. And once she'd gathered all the information the station could give she sighed. "Well, it looks like you're not going anywhere," she said.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Well I'm not about to have you driving around in these conditions," she said, taking another sip.

"Yeah, but you're not gonna let me spend the night," he said.

"It doesn't look like I have much of a choice," said Raven.

"Wait… you… you mean it?" he asked, excitedly.

"Yes, I mean it," said Raven. "Of course, you'll be staying in one of the guest rooms."

"Oh," said Gar, disappointedly.

"I already told you, Garfield," she said with a slight chuckle. "You'll not get into my pants so easily."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said, drinking the rest of his tea down at once. "But, damn, I'd be lying if I said you hadn't just gotten my hopes up just now."

"Mr. Logan, I will sleep with you when you prove to me that you're worth sleeping with," said Raven, taking his empty cup and heading back into the kitchen.

"And just how am I supposed to do that?" he called after her.

"Ha! Like I'd tell you that," she called back to him.

Gar huffed and crossed his arms. It was always two step forwards and four steps back with her.


	14. Share My Bed

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 14: Share My Bed

Raven picked out one of her guest bedrooms and got it ready for Gar. She wasn't all that happy that he had to stay the night, but she also wasn't all that upset. He was a good man and she knew he wasn't going to do anything. But, still, rules had to be set down.

"Don't leave your room once I'm in bed," said Raven. "I'll have set the inside security system on and if you step outside of your door you'll trigger it."

"Okay," said Gar. "When does it turn off?"

"I turn it off manually from my room when I get up," said Raven.

"But what if I wake up in the middle of the night and have to go to the bathroom?" he asked.

Raven sighed and opened a door in the bedroom. "There's a bathroom attached," she said.

"What if I'm hungry?" he asked.

"Do you usually get hungry in the middle of the night?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Sometimes," said Gar. "I'm still growing, you know."

Raven stared at him for a moment and Gar could see in her eyes that she was holding in a laugh. "Well, anyway, no eating in here," she said. "You'll just have to wait until morning."

He sighed and said, "Okay."

Suddenly the lights above them flickered and went out. No sooner had the entire mansion gone dark when a bright flash of lightning illuminated them and a large clash of thunder shook the foundation.

"Great," said Raven.

"Uh, got a flashlight?" asked Gar.

"Just hang on, the generator should be kicking on any second now," said Raven.

The two waited… and waited… and waited. And it remained dark. Finally, Gar decided to say something.

"So… does it usually take this long?" he asked. But he got no answer. "Raven?" He reached out in front of him, where she had once stood, and found her gone. His stomach jumped and his heart began to race. "R-Raven? Where'd you go? Dude, this is _so_ not funny!" Suddenly a bright light flashed into his eyes and he yelped.

"Calm down," she said. "I just went to grab a flashlight. Looks like the generator isn't working."

"That sucks," said Gar.

"No kidding," said Raven. She then sighed and said, "I really don't want to sleep in the dark."

"How else do you sleep?" he asked with a chuckle.

"I happen to sleep with my lights on," said Raven.

"What, like, all night?" asked Gar.

"Yes," said Raven.

"How can you sleep like that?" he asked.

"I wear a sleeping mask," said Raven.

"Yeah, but, why sleep with the lights on at all?" asked Gar.

"I'm not comfortable sleeping in the dark," said Raven.

"Whoa, you're still afraid of the dark?" he asked.

"No, I only became afraid of the dark two years ago," said Raven.

"Why?" asked Gar.

"Why? Oh, only because two years ago assassins jumped out of the darkness of my bedroom and murdered my husband and unborn child," she said with a bite in her voice.

"Oh," said Gar, feeling dumb for not figuring that out. "So, uh, what're you gonna do now?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "Not only is it dark but my security systems inside and out are off. Not to mention Sam's home for the night so I really am all alone. If I could make a phone call I could get a troop of security guards here, but the phones don't work."

"Don't you have a cell phone?" asked Gar.

"No, I don't really have need for one," said Raven. "Do you?"

"Left it at home so Vic couldn't call me," said Gar. "I'm still mad at him for last night. Damn, wish I'd brought it."

"Me too," Raven sighed.

It became quiet between the two of them and Raven let her flashlight simply illuminate the floor. Gar began to think of a way to make her feel better; make her feel safe. She hid her insecurities so well it was hard to picture her afraid of anything. But now he could see it and she wasn't comfortable in the darkness at all.

"If you want, I can sleep in your room," said Gar at last. "You know, on the floor. That way, if you wake up and feel scared you can just wake me up and I'll do a check of your room."

Raven thought for a moment and said, "I suppose that would make me feel a bit more relaxed about the situation."

"Is that a yes?" asked Gar.

"Let's go," she said and began to lead him out of the guest bedroom. "Oh, and grab the pillows and blankets from the bed." Gar was quick to grab the bedding and follow her and the flashlight out.

They made it to her room and Raven did a quick check to make sure everything was as it should be. She didn't want to tell Gar how truly scared she felt right now. But, unbeknownst to her, he knew. He could tell by the slight wavering in her voice and her quick, frightened movements at the simplest noise.

"Okay, so where should I sleep?" he asked.

"Over here, next to my bed," said Raven, pointing to a spot on the floor.

Gar went over to it and laid his blanket down and then the pillows. "There, that should be comfortable enough," he said with a smile.

"I'm going to change into my pajamas," said Raven. "Do you think you can stand being alone in the dark for a minute or two?"

"Why don't you just turn the flashlight off and change?" asked Gar. "I can't see a thing anyway."

"That's true," said Raven. "Alight, but stay right where you are."

"Rae, don't you trust me?" he laughed. "Besides, while you're changing I'm gonna take my pants off."

"…why?" asked Raven, startled that he'd just said that right out.

"Cuz I'm not sleeping in my jeans!" said Gar. "Boxers and my shirt will do just fine as PJs for me."

"Oh," said Raven, slightly embarrassed that she'd jumped to such conclusions. She went to her bureau and grabbed a black, silk nightgown; her usual night attire. "Alright, I'm turning the flashlight off."

"Okay," said Gar.

Raven turned it off and the room went pitch black. Raven heard Gar's pants unzip and her heart undoubtedly raced. She quickly focused on the task at hand and began to undress as well. She worked as quickly as she could and was soon dressed in her nightgown.

"Are you… decent?" she asked.

"Yeah, you can turn the flashlight back on," he chuckled.

She quickly did so, not liking being stuck in the dark, and looked over to him. He was sitting on his little bed on the floor, smiling at her. She felt relieved and then walked over to her own bed. She climbed in and got beneath her covers and once she was comfortable she knew it was time to turn the flashlight off for the night.

"Well… goodnight," she said.

"Goodnight, Rae," said Gar, lying down.

Raven took a big breath in and turned the flashlight off. She quickly placed her sleeping mask on and lay down to sleep. She hoped she could trick her mind into thinking it was only dark because of the mask and on the other side her room was bright, as it usually was. She hadn't been lying there twelve seconds when she heard a rustling.

"What was that?" she asked quickly, her heart racing.

"Sorry, I turned over," said Gar.

She sighed out a breath of relief and tried to sleep again. Thirty seconds later she heard something from across the room. "Gar did you hear that?" she asked, sitting up.

"Hear what?" he asked.

"It sounded like something was over there," said Raven, turning her flashlight on. She looked around and found nothing.

"I think your ears are playing tricks on you, Rae," said Gar.

Raven sighed and said, "This is going to be the longest night of my life."

"Isn't there anything I can do to make you feel safe?" he asked. "I hate the thought of you feeling scared and if there's something I can do I'd be more than happy to do it."

Raven knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight, regardless. But the thought of Gar being so willing to protect her made her feel a bit better. No one had ever wanted to make her feel safe before. She'd never known anyone who wasn't using her for their own personal gain. Gar was the first to ever genuinely like her, no strings attached.

"Well… I actually think I'd feel a bit safe if you were to… share my bed with me," she said, trying to sound as serious and businesslike as she could. "Of course, there'd be no physical contact or anything."

"Rae, I'd never take advantage of you," he said, standing up. "Especially not now."

"I just want you near so I know someone's around," said Raven, feeling very embarrassed.

"And I just wanna make you feel safe," said Gar.

"Then… please, join me," said Raven, scooting over a bit.

Gar crawled onto her lovely, large, soft bed and lay down. "Dude, this bed is _so_ comfy!" he said, cuddling into it. "It's so soft and plush, like sleeping on a cloud or something. And the sheets smell… good! Ah, I could get used to this."

"Don't get any ideas, you," she warned with a slight chuckle in her voice. "As soon as dawn breaks you're back on the floor."

"How will you know the sun's up if it's cloudy?" he asked.

"Alright, once I can see my room without the flashlight you're on the floor," said Raven.

"Only if you can push my sleeping body off of this dream you call a bed," he chuckled. He turned onto his side, facing away from her, and yawned. "Well, goodnight again," he said and snuggled into the large, plush pillow.

"Goodnight, Gar," said Raven, suddenly feeling much better. His simple closeness to her made her feel comforted. She lay back down and turned away from him. Her ears were still on high alert and she still felt a bit scared. But suddenly she heard something she hadn't heard in years; someone slightly snoring next to her. Gar was already asleep. His snores filled the room and Raven found she could no longer hear the house settling or the wind blowing or anything that would startle or scare her. She smiled to herself and was soon falling into a deep sleep.


	15. Fallen

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 15: Fallen

The clouds had finally run out of showers, but they remained loitering in the sky, proud of the work they'd done. Most of the area was flooded horribly and the streets were looking more like rivers. Trees had gone down left and right and littered the streaming streets. The clouds were now being used as lamps by the sun shining behind them and at last light was given to the land. Darkness shrank away and hid back in the shadows where it belonged. The storm was over and it was calm once more.

Raven took a soft breath in as wakefulness came to her. She felt warm and relaxed. The horrible night was over at last. She cuddled into her bed only to realize that she wasn't just sleeping on her bed. She opened her eyes and saw that she was lying with Gar, who was lying on his back, one arm wrapped around her shoulders and supporting her neck. Her hand lay on his chest and her leg overlapped his.

Her first thought was that he'd had sneakily brought her closer to him while she slept and she grew angry. But then she realized that he was completely on his side and that she was intruding his space. She'd made the move! And he was genuinely asleep; there was no trickery about it.

She thought about moving away from him, before he woke up and tried to make this out to be more than it was, but she didn't want to. She'd been alone for so long, it felt nice to be in someone's arms. Memories of Malchior flooded her mind and how he never touched her or held her this way. He never made her feel safe or happy. But Gar did. When he was around she felt as if something that had been empty within her was now filled, something that had been lonely and empty all her life. Could it be that it was… her heart?

Suddenly she made a realization. She was falling for him! She was truly and deeply falling for this young zoo tour guide. This thought caused her heart to jump and she slightly got a bit closer to him. Gar snorted and suddenly turned on his side, facing her, and wrapped his other arm around her to gently hold her in his sleep. Raven smiled and closed her eyes, cuddling up next to him. Yes, she'd fallen. And with this happy thought she found herself drifting back into sleep in his soft embrace.

Gar barely remembered his head hitting the pillow before he fell asleep. He vowed he'd save up and buy a bed just like this some day. As he awoke he noticed something strange. He was hugging someone. Who could he be hugging? He cracked his eyes open and, to his shock, he saw Raven peacefully slumbering in his arms, her hands curled up on his chest.

His heart began to race and fear struck him. If Raven woke up and found them in this position she'd surely have him arrested or something. He slowly began to move, but his eyes caught something very odd. Raven… was softly smiling. And it wasn't just a 'I'm having a good dream' smile. It was 'I'm really comfortable and it's because of you' smile. Was she approving of this? No, she couldn't be. She was asleep! But, then again, what if she just knew? She was smart.

In the end Gar decided to forsake the consequences and he held her a little closer, just like he'd dreamed. Memories of Tara came back to him and pained his heart. He'd always tried to hold her like this, but she'd push him away as if she was annoyed or wasn't interested. She never wanted to cuddle with him or be close when they slept in the same bed.

But Raven… Raven seemed to fit perfectly in his embrace. And she seemed quite happy about it as well. He doubted she'd ever slept so peacefully before. He looked into her sleeping face and saw how calm it was. And her slight smile made him feel warm all over. He would do anything to see her continue to smile like that; to make her feel safe and comfortable, especially with him.

And then it hit him. Perhaps… he was falling in love with her. Could it be? Did people fall in love this quickly? Was it really love he felt? He'd never really felt this strongly before for anyone. The closest thing he could compare it to was to what he felt for Tara, and that was after at least six months. They'd only known each other for two months _and_ they hadn't even slept together yet. And already he felt this burning passion within him when he thought of her. And that's how he knew. This was love.

He smiled and held her close to him, softly rubbing her back in small circles to make her feel even more comfortable. She sighed a pleasant sigh and curled up against him. He soaked in her touch and prayed she wouldn't wake up soon. He didn't want this to end; ever.

"Gar?" said Raven, startling him a bit.

"Uh, yes?" he said, just knowing she was about to kick him out.

"A little lower," she said.

Shocked, he did as she asked and rubbed the small of her back. She smiled and sighed. Gar couldn't believe it. She liked it! She wasn't going to yell at him. Relieved, he did the same as she and let out a sigh with a smile.

"That feels really good," she said. "Thank you."

"No problem," he said. He was quiet for a moment then said, "Raven?"

She hummed a, "Yes."

"We're friends, right?" he asked. She nodded. "And you… you like, me right?" Again, she nodded. "Well, I was thinking… could you… would you like to be my… girlfriend?"

Raven opened her eyes and her brow became furrowed in thought. Her mind raced with all that she'd been thinking about that morning when she'd awoken. She sighed and said, "Yes."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked I… wait," he said. "Did… Did you just say… yes?"

"Yes, Mr. Logan," said Raven, with a slight smile. "I'll be your girlfriend."

Relieved, Gar brought her closer and kissed her. They then settled in and decided to sleep in a little longer. That is, until Raven's eyes snapped open and she realized something.

"Uh, Gar?" she said.

"Yeah?" he said in a blissfully happy way.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Why?" he asked.

"Don't you have work?" she asked.

Gar's eyes snapped open and shot up, nearly catapulting Raven. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed and tumbled out of the bed. Raven watched as he frantically grabbed his pants and threw them back on. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he said as he zipped them up. "I'm totally sorry," he said, racing back over to her and giving her a quick, yet still blistering, kiss. "I'll see you later," he said, giving her another. "I promise," and gave her one last, stronger than the rest, kiss.

"Okay," said Raven, a bit dazed and watched as he ran out of the room. She sat there for a moment, and then a large smile crossed her face and she fell back onto the bed. Damn, he was good kisser even under pressure! She sighed happily, bewildered that one man could change how she felt about anything and everything. Oh yeah, she was smitten.

Gar jumped into his car cussing up a storm. He raced back to his apartment so he could change into his uniform and pray to God they didn't fire him for being late. He nearly died several times trying to swerve out of the way of fallen branches and debris, not to mention the roads were still flooded. After the most frustrating drive of his life he made it home.

"Man, where've you been?!" Vic shouted at him as he ran in the door.

"No time, dude, gonna be late," said Gar running past him.

"Late for what?" asked Vic.

"Work, duh!" said Gar, going into his room and grabbing his uniform off of the back of his chair, where he usually hung it.

"Man, the zoo's closed," said Vic. "They even called and left a message for you not to come in today."

Gar stopped what he was doing and said, "They did."

"Yeah," said Vic. "Do you really think they'd be open on a day like this? No one would show up. Now spill."

"Spill what?" asked Gar.

"What the hell's wrong with you this morning?" asked Vic. "Tell me where you've been, man! I thought ya ran off the road last night and drowned."

"Awe, dude," said Gar, running his fingers through his hair. "I got up and left for nothing! Hey, I can just go back. Awesome, we can spend the whole day together!"

"We? We who?" asked Vic. "Tell me somethin goddamn it!"

"Well, if you must know, I spent last night at Ravens house," said Gar. "And we're officially together now."

Vic's eyes went wide and a sly smile came across his face. "Oh… you spent the _night_," he said. "Man, you musta done somethin amazin for her to agree to be your girlfriend."

"Yeah, I did something amazing," said Gar. "And it has nothing to do with sex."

Vic's smile faded and he looked confused. "Wait… you two did sleep together, right?" he asked.

"Nope," said Gar.

"Then… wait, I'm confused," said Vic, scratching his bald head.

"I'll explain later, dude," said Gar, grabbing his coat again. "But I gotta go see my _girlfriend_." And with a beaming smile left the apartment to return to Raven; leaving a very baffled Vic.

Raven practically floated around her kitchen as she prepared a small breakfast, humming to herself. She wasn't sure she'd ever felt this happy before. For once, everything in her life was going well. She knew it couldn't last forever, but for the moment, she would bask in the feeling.

Her electricity had finally come back on and she felt much better because of it. She asked Sam to do a look around and tell her how her property was. He said that, other than a few random branches here and there, she'd faired pretty well. She was glad for that. She also instructed him to let Mr. Garfield Logan enter whenever he pleased; no confirmation was needed.

But she was shocked when she heard a knock on her door. She knew it couldn't possibly be Gar, since he was at work. Had Sam let some stranger onto her property? Did he misunderstand her instructions and thought that now anyone could enter? Her stomach flipped nervously as she went to the door. She cautiously peeked through the peephole and felt relieved, and a bit confused, to see her now boyfriend on the other side.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she opened the door.

"Zoo's closed," he said with a smile. "No work today. So, I figured I could spend the day with you again."

Raven gave him a smile and stepped aside so he could come in. "I was just making breakfast," she said.

"Cool, I'm starving," said Gar.

"I don't know if I have anything a vegetarian would like for breakfast," she said, closing her door.

"Eh, anything can be a breakfast food," said Gar, shrugging. "Got any leftover pizza?"

"You're going to have pizza for breakfast?" she asked.

"Only if you've got it," he said with a smirk. He went to her fridge and, sure enough, there was some leftover pizza. "Ah ha! I knew it." He unwrapped it from its foil covering and began to eat it cold.

"You're astounding," she said as she sat down to her toast, eggs, and tea.

"Why thank you," he said with a grin and took a seat across from her.

She rolled her eyes and began to elegantly eat her breakfast. He loved to watch her. She was so proper and graceful, even when eating. He couldn't believe how different they were. He couldn't eat anything without it getting all over himself and everything within five feet of him.

"So, what shall we do today?" asked Raven.

"It's up to you," said Gar. "You're the girlfriend, so you run the show."

"I do?" she said with a slight chuckle.

"Yup," he said. "So, what're we gonna do today?"

Raven thought for a moment then smiled. "I think I'd like to have sex right now," she said.

Gar choked on his pizza and stared at her in shock. "What? Seriously?!" he said, his eyes beaming with excitement.

She gave a small chuckle and shook her head. "You sure are gullible," she said and continued to eat.

He frowned and crossed his arms. "Dude, that's not funny," he said, upset that she'd gotten the better of him yet again. "Never dangle sex in front of a guy and expect him not to say yes. You're just being cruel at this point."

"I'm sorry, I just love how excited you get," said Raven. "But, don't worry. Now that we're officially going out you've actually got a shot at sleeping with me."

"But you're not going to sleep with me until I prove to you I'm worth sleeping with," he said, rolling his eyes. "Not that I know what exactly I have to do to do that."

"You're not supposed to," said Raven. "I'll know when you've proven yourself. And when that moment comes I'm going to rock your world."

"Ugh, stop it!" he yelled in frustration. "You're seriously killing me here."


	16. Lunch with His Friends

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 16: Lunch with his Friends

Raven wasn't sure what she was thinking. She'd received a letter from Gar's friend Kori and she had asked her out to lunch to apologize for that disaster of an evening. She and he had been an official couple for about two weeks and everything seemed to be going fine thus far. She guessed that if their relationship really was going to last she'd have to make friends with his friends.

She entered the small restaurant and found that not only Kori was there but so was Dick. She hadn't counted on that and hoped they weren't going to gang up on her. But she wasn't about to show them how nervous she was. She was Raven Roth and she wasn't scared of anything… except the dark.

She approached the table and said, "Hello."

"Hello, I am very glad you agreed to meet with us," said Kori.

"Correction, technically I agreed to meet with you," said Raven. "You never informed me about Dick."

"Oh, so you remember my name," said Dick.

"Of course I do," said Raven. "Gar talks about you three all of the time."

"Well we just wanted to apologize for what happened," said Dick.

"We were very rude and impolite to you," said Kori. "And for that we are very sorry."

"Thank you," said Raven. "It means a lot for you to apologize. And, for the record, I want you to know that I'm really none of those things you might have feared me to be. I have no more connections with the mafia so you don't have to be afraid. I think it'd be best if we put the whole evening behind us and started off anew."

"I agree," said Kori. "Now that you are Garfield's girlfriend we wish to be your friends."

"I'm hoping for that as well," said Raven.

"Now, while we're on the subject," said Dick. "How have you and Gar been? He barely tells us anything, which isn't like him at all."

"We're doing well, I believe," said Raven. "We're still in the beginning stages and right now I'm trying to take it nice and slow and he wants to speed everything up."

"Please, I hope you do not find this too personal of a question, but have the two of you had the sex yet?" asked Kori in a soft voice so no one else around them could hear.

Raven felt quite taken aback by her forwardness and blushed. "That… That _is_ a personal question," she said, trying to keep her composure. She cleared her throat and was soon calm again. "But the answer is no. No we haven't slept together yet."

"Ah, that's why," said Dick. "He's trying to speed things up because he hasn't slept with anyone in almost four months."

"I haven't had sex in over two years," said Raven matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but in his defense he's a guy," Dick laughed.

"Are you saying that men have more of a need for sex then women?" asked Raven, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I am saying that guys can't control themselves nearly as well as women can," said Dick. "Women have more self control."

"I can't argue with you there," said Raven.

"Well I am glad you are taking everything slowly," said Kori. "I made Richard wait three months before we had the sex for the first time. And we have been together for almost two years. Please, how long do you expect to make him wait?"

"I don't know," said Raven, shrugging. "It depends on how long it takes him to prove to me that we may actually have a long lasting relationship. Now let's not talk about our sex lives anymore."

"Agreed," said Dick, who wasn't exactly comfortable talking about his own sex life in public. He'd just always been shy like that. "But, let me tell you this Raven, I don't think any of us have ever seen him as happy as he is right now."

"Really?" asked Raven.

"Oh, yes," said Kori. "He does not talk to us about your relationship, but we have never seen him more gleeful. You have truly brightened up his life."

Raven blushed and said, "He's always so cheerful, I doubt you could ever tell if he was happier."

"Oh, we can," said Dick. "We've known him for years and he's had his highs and his lows. And before he met you he was going through a low period. But the moment he saw you, we could all tell. He was on the upwards slope to being high again."

"I believe it is called love at first sight," said Kori.

Raven blushed again and bit her lip. "Well, to be honest, I've actually never been happier as well," she said, disbelieving that she was opening up to these people who had hurt her feelings mere weeks before. But, they were Gar's friends and she could tell they were good people. And if she was going to be close friends with them now, she might as well get comfortable with them.

"We are very glad to hear that," said Kori with a smile.

"Now, if Gar ever does anything stupid you make sure to call me or Vic up," said Dick. "We've got no problem smacking him around."

Raven let out a small chuckle and said, "I think I can handle him on my own if he ever does do anything worth smacking. But, I'll hold you to your offer, just incase."

The three had a very pleasant lunch together and Raven decided that she wouldn't mind having these two as friends. They seemed decent enough and all she asked for was decency in people. Yes, they'd asked a few personal questions, but they'd all been asked by Kori, so Raven decided not to mind.

After lunch she decided to go see Gar on his lunch break at the zoo. Of course, because of her generous donation, she was given free admission. She found him just finishing up a tour for a group of private school children. They all went skipping off and he let out a sigh of relief. Half the day was done.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the bathroom is?" he heard a voice say behind him.

He swung around and saw Raven standing there with a small smile. "Hey!" he said, wrapping his arms around her. "What're you doing here?"

"I thought I'd stop by," said Raven and she held up a paper bag. "And I brought you lunch."

"You made me lunch?" he asked.

"No, I bought you lunch," she said, handing it to him. "It's a hummus sandwich from that vegetarian café you're always talking about trying."

"Awe, you're the best," he said and gave her a kiss. He opened the bag and looked inside. "Cool! You got me chips too. And a cookie!"

"All meat and dairy free for the true vegetarian or vegan," said Raven with a smirk.

"You're too good to me," he said, taking her hand. They walked over to a picnic table and sat down so he could eat his lunch.

"So… I met with Dick and Kori today," said Raven, not really sure how else to introduce the subject.

Gar was taken aback by this. "You did?" he asked with a mouthful of hummus. "Why?"

"Kori asked me out to lunch to apologize for what happened," said Raven. "Dick was there as well and we made amends."

"Well, that's good," said Gar, relieved. "I was kinda scared you guys would never mix."

"No, I like them," said Raven. "We've decided to forget what happened and start over. I'd really like to hang out with them again. Though, Kori did ask some rather personal questions."

"Yeah, Kori's got no shame," Gar laughed as he popped a few chips in his mouth.

"I think it's funny that she's so open and Dick seems very… shy about certain things," said Raven.

"Yeah, they may love each other, but when it comes to talking about feelings and their love life they're total opposites," said Gar.

"What about Vic?" asked Raven. "He's your best friend, right? When do I get to have a second chance meeting him?"

"Whenever you want," said Gar with a smile as he took another bite of his sandwich. "He's the coolest; I love him like a big brother. He's saved my ass so many times I've lost count."

"Does he have a girlfriend?" asked Raven.

"Not at the moment," said Gar. "But he's never had trouble getting girls. He's probably the only guy I know who chooses to be single."

"He's that cool?" asked Raven with a small smile and raised her eyebrow.

"Oh yeah," Gar chuckled.

"Well then I'll have to meet him again," said Raven. "Assuming he'll apologize for what happened just like Dick and Kori did."

"Trust me, he's already apologized like forty times to me," said Gar. "He'll definitely say he's sorry to you." Gar finished his lunch and then decided to walk Raven to the exit.

"Have they decided how to spend the money I donated?" asked Raven as they walked.

"No, they haven't made a decision yet," said Gar. "I'm really hoping they choose my proposal."

"They had better," said Raven. "That's why I donated the money in the first place."

"What'll you do if they don't?" asked Gar.

"Well, I guess I'll have to donate another $10 million until they do," said Raven.

Gar smiled and held her close as they walked. "Awe, you don't have to spend all your money on me," he said.

"I'm not," said Raven. "It's for the zoo."

"You just don't wanna admit that the only reason you're giving the zoo money is cuz of me," said Gar.

"Exactly," said Raven, smugly. "And you'll never get me to admit it."

"Other than that admission right there," he laughed. They made it to the exit and Gar sighed. "Well, this is where we must part."

"Okay, Mr. Dramatic," said Raven, rolling her eyes. "I'll see you later."

Gar leaned down and kissed her. "Thanks for lunch," he said.

"You're welcome," said Raven, slightly blushing at being kissed in public.

"Do you want me to come over after work?" asked Gar.

"I was gonna catch up on some reading," said Raven. "Is that alright?"

"Of course it's alright," Gar laughed. "I was thinking of hanging out with the guys tonight anyway if you were busy."

"Then have fun," said Raven.

"Gar, let's go!" a voice called across the way.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" he called back. "I'll call you." He gave her another kiss and then ran off to lead yet another group on a tour.

Raven walked back to her car smiling and blushing. It felt so nice to not be alone anymore. She finally had someone to hold her and make her feel safe. She had someone who appreciated her and cared for her. And that was all she really needed. Not her millions of dollars or her mansion. Not her thousands of books or her security guard. Just someone who made her feel as if life just might be worth living.


	17. Gar's Dream Come True

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 17: Gar's Dream Come True

They made it a whole month. Garfield Logan and Raven Roth had been an official couple for an entire month and had known each other for about three. And, no, they still hadn't slept together. Gar wasn't exactly frustrated, well, he was a little, but he just wanted to know what more Raven wanted. He was with her all of the time, but not so much that he was overbearing. He would call her from work to ask her how her day was going and if she'd like to do anything later. And he made sure to still respect her need for privacy and independence. What did he have to do to prove to her that he was worth sleeping with? He just wasn't sure.

Raven stood in front of one of her many windows doing their weakly cleaning. She sprayed the cleaning solution on the glass and then wiped it clean with a paper towel. She had just finished when she heard her front door open and slam shut.

"Rae!" her name echoed throughout the mansion.

"Gar?" she said, placing her cleaning items down.

"Where are you?" he called.

"I'm upstairs," said Raven, heading for the stairs. She had just reached it as Gar finished climbing them and he wrapped his arms around her and began to spin her around. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"They're gonna do it!" he said excitedly.

"Do it? Do what?" she said, confused.

"The zoo accepted my proposal," he said, beaming. "They're gonna use the money to modify the zoo the way _I_ want it. Can you believe it?!" He spun her around a few more times and then kissed her.

"That's wonderful, Gar," said Raven smiling. "But could you please put me down now?"

"Do I have to?" he asked, spinning about.

"Yes," said Raven. "I'm getting quite dizzy up here."

Gar laughed and said, "Alright." He set her down, but didn't release his hold of her. He kissed her again and pressed his forehead against hers. "Thank you."

"For what?" she asked.

"For the donation you made to the zoo," said Gar. "I mean, I never imagined I could actually make a difference for the animals, but now, thanks to you, I am."

"Gar, all I did was supply the money," said Raven. "You're the one who proposed your concepts and convinced them that they were the best. This was all you."

"But it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you," said Gar.

Raven sighed and smiled. "You can't accept it, can you?" she said. "That you, Garfield Logan, have actually made a small difference in the world."

Gar smiled humbly and shook his head. "No," he said. "I can't."

"Well, you have," she said. "Because of you, they're going to redo the zoo and for years to come thousands of people are going to be seeing your masterpiece."

Gar's eyes went wide. "Oh my God," he said, "I never realized that." His face went pale and his mouth was stuck open in shock.

"Gar, are you alright?" asked Raven, growing concerned.

"I'm not sure," he said, staring blankly.

"Do you need to sit down?" asked Raven.

"Yes," said Gar.

Raven brought Gar downstairs and sat him down in the kitchen. She got him a glass of water and took a seat as well. She could tell his mind was racing and she placed her hand on his to reassure him.

"Gar, can you say something?" she asked.

"I'm just… I'm not sure I like the idea of my zoo anymore," said Gar.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Cuz what if people don't like it?" he asked. "Then everyone'll blame me and I'll probably get fired and go down in history as the worst zoo designer and I'll never be able to work with animals again!"

Raven stared at him silently as he finished his little panicked rant. She watched as he moaned and buried his head in his arms, which were crossed on the table. She sighed and placed a hand on his back.

"Gar, I really think you're overreacting," said Raven. "You care more about animals than anything else in this world, so I doubt you'd create anything that would risk working with them. And the heads of the zoo chose your design because not only will it work well for the animals, but it'll draw in crowds. All they care about is money, so don't worry about people not liking it."

Gar listened to her and raised his head. He turned to her and saw her smiling kindly at him. He smiled back and wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks Rae," he said. "I feel… a little better about it now. I mean, I'm still nervous as hell, but… I don't feel as sick about it."

"Good," said Raven. "I'm glad I can make you feel a little better. But I really think you're getting worked up over nothing. You should be celebrating this, not feeling sick about it. You're probably going to get your name on a plaque."

"Oh, great, then everyone will know my name's Garfield," said Gar.

"Garfield is a fine name," said Raven, rubbing his back. "If anyone asks you can just say you were named after the president. Then everyone will think you're patriotic."

"Think I can get all of that on the plaque?" he asked.

Raven smiled, wrapped an arm around him, and kissed him on the cheek. "If that's what you want," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "We'll even have it painted green and put it at the base of a statue carved in your likeness."

Gar laughed and said, "Yeah and I'll have you in there, too, clinging to me as I stand proudly."

"Now there's an interesting mental image," said Raven chuckled.

Gar chuckled as well and then let out a sigh. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Rae," he said, leaning his head on hers.

"Whatever you were doing before you spotted me in the lounge," said Raven.

"Wow, I can't even imagine what life was like before I spent every moment of the day trying to get you to notice me," said Gar.

"Well that's because you didn't have a life before me," said Raven, smugly.

"Oh, yes I did," said Gar. "It was totally different and empty, but I did."

Raven smiled and gave him a kiss. "So, how about we go celebrate this grand achievement of yours?" she said. "My treat."

"When is it not your treat?" he laughed.

"Well this time it'll be my treat and you don't have to feel guilty about it," said Raven. "Come on, we'll stop by the lounge, have a few drinks, then go from there."

"Sounds cool," said Gar with a smile. "Now, when you say 'go from there'…"

"No, no sex," said Raven standing up to go change out of her cleaning clothes.

"Damn," he sighed.

Once Raven was changed the two headed out to The Gem. Raven kept saying little things about how proud she was of him and how great he was. Raven had never really said such positive, self-esteem boosting things to him before and he felt on top of the world. She even wrapped her arm around his as they walked in as if he was some big shot. Oh yeah, he was loving this.

They walked in and Gar was met with a huge, "Surprise!"

He nearly had a heart attack and fell down, had Raven not had a good hold of his arm. Dick, Kori, Vic, and all his friends from the zoo were in the lounge. There were balloons and streamers tastefully decorated everywhere. Everyone was clapping and whistling.

"W-What the hell?" he said, shocked.

"Congrats, man!" said Vic, hugging him in a bear hug.

"We are so happy for you!" said Kori, clapping.

"You did it, Gar!" said Dick, shaking his hand.

"Whoa, what the hell's going on?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

"Are you surprised?" asked Raven.

"Uh, yeah," said Gar. "But, I mean, how did they…"

"We didn't," said Vic. "Raven put this all together."

He turned to her and said, "Y-You did? You knew?"

"Well, you see, since it was my money the zoo was spending, they had to make sure I agreed with their choice," said Raven. "So I received a call today asking if I liked Garfield Logan's proposal. I said I most certainly did and that was it. They told me they were going to call you in and give you the good news. So, I thought I'd put something together for you."

Gar was in complete shock and his head was spinning. "I… I can't believe this," he said. He turned to her saying, "You did all of this for me?"

"Of course," she said, a bit bashfully. "I knew how much getting this meant to you so I figured you'd like to celebrate with your friends."

Gar really couldn't believe it. Raven Roth, who hated large groups and felt uncomfortable being around anyone at all, had put together a surprise party just for him. She'd called all these people up, made all of the arrangements, and was holding it in her precious lounge. He just couldn't believe it. She'd done it all for him!

Before he knew what was happening everyone was crowding around him, congratulating him. Drinks were served and Raven had even catered a mostly vegetarian buffet. He wasn't sure how she was able to do all of this last minute. And he really didn't care. The fact was that she'd done it.

As the night went on Gar found himself away from Raven, sitting with Vic and Dick at a table while Kori chatted with Raven across the way. Gar watched and couldn't help but be amused and proud of her. It was clear that she still wasn't comfortable being with Kori, but she was being brave and doing her best to be her friend.

"You're one lucky guy, Gar," said Vic.

"Huh?" said Gar, who had been watching Raven.

"You lucked out," said Vic. "Who'da thought your perfect girl was Raven Roth?"

Yeah, I know," said Gar with a smile. "She's so… amazing."

"Gar, I don't think you'll ever find anyone else like her," said Dick. "So don't do anything stupid and scare her away."

"Trust me, dude, I won't," said Gar.

"Ya better not," said Vic. "I mean, in all the years I've known ya, you've always been the one to go over the top and give everythin in your relationships. But this girl just completely jumped out of her comfort zone for you. She went from not talkin to anyone at all a few months ago to callin people she doesn't even know to throw a surprise party in your honor. She like's ya, man. She _really_ likes ya."

"I know," said Gar. "I think I'm gonna marry her, guys."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Vic chuckled. "I mean, if ya feel this strongly about her already and ya haven't even slept together yet, it's gotta be somethin special."

"You'd better not be thinking about asking her any time soon, though," warned Dick. "That'll definitely scare her away. Don't forget what happened to her, Gar."

"Look, I don't care about her past," said Gar. "That's why she was first drawn to me in the first place."

"Be that as it may," said Dick. "I want you to realize how slow she's taking it with you. There's a reason for that, Gar. As much as she's opened up and gotten comfortable with you, she's still scared."

"So, what're you saying?" asked Gar. "She's not gonna wanna marry me cuz she's always gonna be scared I'm gonna go on a traitorous, killing rampage like her asshole husband?"

"No, what I'm saying is that you need to be aware of how comfortable she is with you," said Dick. "When _she_ starts talking about long term things, _that's_ when you can start thinking about marriage."

"Speaking of which, Dick, when're you gonna ask Kori to marry you?" asked Gar with a smirk.

Dick blushed and said, "This isn't about me."

"He has a good point, man," said Vic, grinning as well. "When _are_ you gonna ask Kori?"

Dick just grumbled, got up, and decided to go hang out with strangers rather than talk about this. Vic and Gar laughed and watched as Dick tried to slip into a conversation that was going on across the room.


	18. Ashamed

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 18: Ashamed

The party lasted for many hours and didn't die down until night fell. Once everyone was gone Raven began to clean up her lounge, with Gar's help. She wasn't about to leave it all decorated overnight. She was currently standing on a chair grabbing the green streamers and handing them to Gar who stuffed them into a trash bag.

"I bet this is the first time The Gem has been decorated before," said Gar.

"You'd win that bet," said Raven.

"I still can't believe you did all of this for me," said Gar.

"Why?" asked Raven. "You deserved it."

"But, I mean, no one's ever done something like this for me before," said Gar.

"Well it's about time someone did then," said Raven, climbing down from her chair. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"I dunno," said Gar as he tied up the trash bag that was filled with decorations. "I bet you're pretty sick of me at this point, so I guess I'll just head home."

"I'm not sick of you," said Raven. "I barely got to spend any time with you today."

"Oh," said Gar, wrapping his arms around Raven and smiling. "You wanna spend more time with me, huh?"

"Well," said Raven, slightly blushing. "I wouldn't be apposed to it."

Gar chuckled and said, "You're so cute." He then leaned in and kissed her. "Think we can have a sleepover tonight?"

"If you want," said Raven.

"Cool, let's stop by my apartment so I can get some stuff and then we can go to your place," said Gar, taking her hand and leading her out of the lounge.

"Does this mean I get to finally see your apartment?" asked Raven with a smile.

"Oh, uh, I don't know," said Gar. "It's a guys' apartment, you know, smelly and cluttered and stuff. I think you'd be more comfortable in the car."

"I don't think it's fair that you get to come to my house all the time and I never get to see yours," said Raven.

"Well yours is cool and mine sucks," Gar laughed.

"I'll be the judge of that," said Raven. "Now let's go."

Once Raven locked up The Gem the two headed over to Gar's apartment. He was nervous as hell and knew Vic was going to kill him for bringing her over unannounced, but he was going to grab his things as quickly as he could and get out of there. Besides, once Raven saw how he lived maybe she'd ask him to stay with her more often because she'd feel bad about his living arrangements.

The two arrived at Gar's apartment and made the journey up three flights of stairs. On their way up they could hear people's televisions and conversations. Gar looked to Raven and had to stifle a laugh. She looked quite out of her element and a little scared. She'd certainly never been in an apartment building before. They arrived at his door, to Ravens relief, and the two entered.

"Well, here it is," said Gar.

Raven looked around and said, "It's, um, nice."

"Hey, you wanted to see it," Gar chuckled. "Just let me grab my bag and we can go." And with that he quickly headed to his room. He grabbed his backpack and threw some clothes inside.

"So this is your room, huh?" said Raven.

He turned around and saw Raven looking around in his room. He hadn't planned on her coming in and now felt quite embarrassed.

"Uh, yeah, this is it," he said, working quickly to get her out of there.

"You never told me you owned fish and an… iguana," said Raven, looking at the animals. She looked at all of the clothes on the floor and said, "Haven't you ever heard of a draw?"

"Nope," he joked and zipped up his bag. "Come on, let's go."

"Why can't we hang out here for a little while?" asked Raven.

"Trust me, you don't wanna hang out here," said Gar.

"Why? Do you think I'm too high class to be in an apartment?" asked Raven, crossing her arms.

"Well, yes, actually," said Gar. "Besides, I like your place better."

"Gar, there's nothing wrong with living in an apartment," said Raven.

"Oh yeah? Then how come you don't live in one?" asked Gar.

"Because I choose not to," said Raven.

"I bet you couldn't survive living in an apartment," said Gar. "Not with the way you were brought up."

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" asked Raven, not liking the way he was talking to her.

"Oh, come on," said Gar. "You've been rich your entire life, you've never had to live in an apartment or from paycheck to paycheck."

"No, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be able tolerate living in an apartment," said Raven.

"Yeah right," said Gar. "You'd probably die if you couldn't have complete silence and your security guards."

Raven frowned and said, "You know what? I don't think I want you to come over." And with that she left his room and headed for the door.

"What?" he said, following her out. "What's your problem?"

"My problem?!" she said. "What's _your_ problem, Gar? Why are you suddenly bitter towards me because I have money?"

"I'm not bitter, I'm just telling the truth," said Gar.

"Well, fine," said Raven. "If that's how you feel then I'm going home. I don't need this." And with that she left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Gar wasn't really sure what'd just happened. Everything had been going fine and then suddenly he ruined everything and she was gone. He sighed and took a seat on the couch.

Suddenly he heard the bathroom door open and he turned around to see Vic coming out. "Have you been in there the whole time?" asked Gar.

"Well I was gonna come out and then y'all started fighting," said Vic, who didn't look happy. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"What?" asked Gar.

"What did we just talk about, man?" said Vic. "We told ya not to ruin this and in less than a few hours you pick a fight with her for no reason and run her outta here. Seriously, do you wanna be miserable and alone? Why the hell did you do that?"

"I don't know!" said Gar. "I just… I don't know. She wanted to come in and I didn't want her to see this place, but I couldn't tell her no. And then she came in my room and was looking around. I just got into a bad attitude. I don't know why."

"Could it be cuz you're ashamed?" asked Vic.

"Ashamed? Ashamed of what?" asked Gar, confused.

"Ashamed of livin in an apartment and not bein a millionaire like her," said Vic. "I mean, Raven's all rich and high class and you're just a Joe Shmoe. I can see why you'd feel embarrassed about showin her the apartment. But that's no reason to get mad and piss her off so she'll leave. Now get your ass out there and stop her before she goes!"

And with that Vic grabbed Gar and, quite literally, tossed him out of the apartment. Gar heard Vic lock the door and realized he had no other choice but to go after Raven. He raced down the stairs as fast as he could and exploded out of the building, looking every which way for her. He found her on the curb, trying to hail a taxi.

"Raven!" he said, running over to her.

"I don't want to hear it," she said angrily.

"Look, I can explain," he said.

"There's nothing to explain," said Raven. "You resent me because I didn't financially suffer growing up or ever."

"No, I don't," he said.

"Taxi!" Raven called out and finally hailed one down. Gar knew he had to work fast.

"Raven, please!" he said desperately. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you mad."

"Then why'd you say all those things?" asked Raven, opening the door of the taxi. "Why do you have to make me out to be some spoiled, overly privileged person? When have I ever been like that, Gar?"

"You haven't," said Gar, closing the taxi door.

"Well, I must have for you to talk about me like that," said Raven opening the door again.

"No, you haven't," said Gar, closing the door. "I was just being an ass, I'm sorry."

"Then why did you say those things?!" she asked again.

"Because I'm embarrassed, okay!" he said.

"Hey, you gettin in or not?" asked the taxi driver.

"No, she's not!" Gar practically yelled. The driver growled and drove off.

Raven crossed her arms and looked to Gar. "You're embarrassed?" she said.

"Well… yeah," he said, shamefully.

"Gar, what could you possibly be embarrassed about?" asked Raven.

"Rae, look where I live!" said Gar, pointing to the apartment building. "I only make enough money to pay my rent. The only reason I can live this way is cuz I mooch off of you. How can I not be embarrassed? How can I not feel like a loser?"

Raven sighed and said, "Gar, do you think I care at all that you live in an apartment? Do you think I care if you live off of the leftover pizza in my fridge? If I care at all about any of those things I would have kicked you out of my life right at the beginning. The only thing I care about is you. Not your bank account, not your class status, not even the fact that you're the sloppiest person I've ever met; just you, Gar. Just you."

Gar pulled Raven into his arms and held her tightly. "God, Rae, I'm so sorry for saying all of that," he said. "I didn't mean it, honest."

"It's okay, Gar," said Raven, holding him just as tightly. "But just know that you should never be embarrassed about anything around me. If you'll always accept me for whom I am then I'll always accept you for who you are; no matter what."

"Rae, you'll never have to worry about me accepting you," said Gar. "You mean everything to me."

"You mean everything to me too, Gar," said Raven.

He pulled them apart and then took her hand. "Come on, let's go," he said, bringing her over to his car.

"What about your stuff?" asked Raven.

"Oh shit," said Gar. "Okay, you get in and I'll be right back." He quickly ran back into the apartment building to grab his backpack. Raven did as he said and got into the car to wait for him. He was down in a flash and then the two drove began the drive back to her place.

"Gar, does it really upset you that I have more money than you?" asked Raven.

"Well, no," said Gar. "It's just… usually in a relationship the guy makes more money and is the one who spends it on the girl. Our situation is just… weird, you know? I'm not saying it's bad or wrong, it's just… not normal."

"And that bothers you," said Raven in a down tone.

"No, it doesn't bother me," said Gar. "I'm just trying to get used to the idea. I mean, all my life I've always thought that things were supposed to be a certain way. Finding out that they're not is a little, you know, confusing. But it doesn't bother me."

"Good," said Raven in a relieved sigh.

Gar reached over and took Ravens hand. He held it to his lips and kissed the back of it. He held her hand the entire drive to her house. There was a comfortable, happy silence between them and both felt quite relieved.


	19. Take Me

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 19: Take Me

Morning came and Gar looked over to Raven, who was still softly sleeping. Her dark strands had fallen in front of her face and he gingerly reached over and brushed them away, tucking them behind her ear. He held her face with his one hand, running his thumb over her chin and lips. She shifted a little bit, but quickly settled back into her sleep. She was so beautiful; so different. There wasn't a doubt in his mind. He would marry her someday.

When he looked at her he saw his entire future. He couldn't picture ever doing anything without her. No other woman could ever make him feel the way she made him feel. He once thought he knew what love felt like, but it was nothing compared to the feeling that burned inside of him when he saw this woman.

He leaned over and began to kiss her neck. They were soft, light, and tickled ever so slightly. Raven sighed and was gently awakened by them. "Gar?" she said, still half asleep. "What are you doing?"

"Saying good morning," said Gar, continuing to kiss her and adding a little more pressure now that she was awake.

Raven couldn't help smiling and leaning her head a little so he had more room to kiss. Gar gladly took the invitation and kissed all over her neck and collarbone. Raven could feel a blush spreading all over her body as well as an excited tingling sensation.

"I love the way you say good morning," she said happily.

"You should see how I saw good afternoon," he said. She barely had a chance to laugh as he covered her lips with his own. He kissed her deeply and slowly moved on top of her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.

He began to kiss her a bit more fiercely and push his body against hers. Raven felt a shock go through her system and her heart raced. They had always kissed and made out, but never anything like this.

"Gar," she said against his lips.

"Yeah?" he said, continuing to kiss her and press himself against her.

"This is too much," she said, feeling nervous.

"What's too much?" he asked, moving back down to her neck.

"What you're doing," said Raven. "I… I need you to stop. Please."

Gar pulled his lips back from her skin and looked at her. He saw that she was uncomfortable and there was even fear behind her eyes. He sighed and moved off of her, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"No, I'm sorry," said Raven, turning to him.

"I should've known you wouldn't like it," he said, aggravated him self.

"I did… up until a certain point," she said. She sighed and covered her face with her hands. "God, why do I have to be this way? I'm so sorry."

"Rae, it's okay," said Gar. "You don't have to be sorry about this."

"Yes, I do," she said. "I want to be with you, Gar, I really do. But… I don't know. Whenever things get heated I get scared and nervous. And then I push you away and you get mad and frustrated with me."

"I'm not mad or frustrated with you," he said, sitting up. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there. "I'm upset with myself. I know you're not ready for that yet, but I can't stop myself and that pisses me off."

"Gar, the last thing you should be is mad at your self," said Raven, crawling over to him. "I'm putting you through hell when you could just leave me and find someone else to give you what you want and deserve."

He turned to her and said, "Rae, _you're_ what I want. And I know I totally don't deserve you cuz you're way too good for me, but I would rather wait twenty years for you to be ready to be with me then to just leave you and get some quick fix."

Raven looked deep into his eyes, those eyes that were beyond beautiful and as green as sparkling emeralds. "Do you mean that?" she asked.

"Of course I do," said Gar. "Raven… I love you."

In that moment she could have sworn she felt her heart skip a beat or two and her breath certainly caught in her throat. Her jaw dropped and she felt completely speechless. It took her a few moments to find her voice to speak.

"You… You love me?" she asked.

He sighed and looked away from her, as if he felt ashamed. "Yeah," he said, nodding. "I do."

Raven took this in and bit her lip. Gar felt completely embarrassed about revealing this and knew that he'd probably just ruined their relationship. He'd scared her off; that was all there was to it. He knew he shouldn't have said it, but he couldn't help it. He had to say it aloud.

"Gar?" said Raven. He sighed and turned to her. He was stunned to see that she was fighting back tears and he feared the worst. "I-I love you, too."

His eyes went wide and he looked at her in shock. "You… You do?" he asked.

She gave him a small smile and the tears that had been building up in her eyes fell down her blushing cheeks. "Yes, I do," she said.

He smiled and the two leaned in and kissed. Raven brought him close to her and the two continued to kiss passionately. Gar was caught a bit off guard when Raven grabbed the bottom of his tee-shirt and lifted it up and over his head, leaving him in only his boxers. She pulled him closer to her and kissed him seductively yet feverishly.

"Rae," he said against her lips. "What're you doing?"

"Take me, Gar," she said in a pleading voice, kissing him again.

"Wait, what?" he said, confused.

"Make love to me," she said desperately.

"Rae, are you sure?" he asked. "I mean, you just said…" He was cut short as he watched Raven grab the bottom of her nightgown and lift it up over her head, exposing her bare breasts. She now sat in front of him in only a pair of silk, black panties.

"Please," she said. "Make me yours, Gar."

She didn't have to ask him anymore. He leaned back in and captured her lips once more. He slowly laid her down and pressed himself against her. His kisses left her lips and he trailed them down her neck, her collarbone, and then made it to her chest, which rose and fell sporadically with her panting breaths of excitement. His lips found their way to one of her breasts and he gently began to kiss and bite at her nipple while his hand massaged the other one. Raven let out moans and small squeals at this new and exciting feeling.

After a minute or two he switched breasts and repeated the actions. Raven was already trembling and she ran her fingers through his hair over and over again. He eventually ceased the assault on her breasts and kissed his way all the way back up to her lips. Their breaths were already quick and adrenaline pumped through their excited bodies.

"Rae, are you absolutely sure about this?" asked Gar, who knew that if she was having second thoughts this was the time to voice them.

"Yes," she nodded. "I've never been surer of anything in my entire life." She leaned up and captured his lips. And as she did this she reached down and pulled Gar's boxers down. Since she couldn't reach, he finished the job and then looked to hers. He slipped his fingers between the silken material and slipped them down her hips, legs, and then off of her completely.

Now the two regarded each other in all their naked glory; and it was far better a site than either could have imagined. Gar leaned down and kissed her deeply. He kissed her three times before moving forward and gently inserting himself within her. Her breath did catch as she felt him move within her and she felt herself arch her back a little as a response.

He began to thrust into her at a slow steady pace, seeing what made her moan, what made her groan, and what made her squeal. He got a good idea of her key points and began to quicken the pace considerably. He kissed her a few times then buried his face into the crook of her neck, continuing to thrust deep within her.

Their panted breaths and groans filled the room as they went further and further. Their bodies were slick with sweat, making it that much easier to move around. Raven felt as if she was going to be thrust into her headboard and she gripped her bed, her mind already spinning. She couldn't believe the sounds that were escaping her mouth, but she was far too in bliss to care. She groaned and yelped as he went faster and faster and made her mind leave reality. And the more she moaned the more he moaned and got even more turned on.

As he thrust he lifted his head from the crook of her neck and looked upon her beautiful body in all its brilliance. Her fair skin was peppered with sweat. Her chest was heaving, allowing her breasts to pulse like the ocean during a storm so that he was mesmerized by them. Her breaths were quick and she moaned a soft, sweet moan with every quick exhale. He had never beheld such beauty in all of his life. He placed his hands upon her quivering hips and kissed her chest as he continued making love to her.

And then Raven felt something that made her heart race and her body stiffen. Everything within her convulsed and pulsed, soon rippling through her entire body. It felt so good she let out a scream, but covered it by wrapping herself around Gar, who continued to thrust. But it wasn't long after he felt Raven climax that he felt himself reach his peak and with a mighty orgasmic groan he poured himself into her.

He soon weakly let himself down from his position and gently lay atop of her, trying to catch his breath, just as she. Both of their bodies were shaking and soaked with sweat. He gathered his strength and lifted himself a bit. He looked at his lover and saw her trembling. He leaned down and gave her a soft, sweet kiss on the lips then gently slid out of her and rolled onto his back.

For a few seconds the two lay there, panting. Gar felt beyond relaxed and pleasured. Damn, it had been worth the wait. He felt Raven move and looked over to her. She was lying curled up on her side, facing away from him. This concerned him a bit.

"Rae? You okay?" he asked, out of breath.

She didn't answer; she just seemed to curl up tighter. He didn't like this and he moved closer to her. He nearly pressed himself against her then propped himself up on his elbow. He gently touched her arm and kissed her shoulder.

"Raven, are you alright?" he asked, quite worried now.

She finally turned back onto her back and looked up at him. "I'm… I'm okay," she said.

"You sure?" he asked.

She reached up and held the side of his face with her hand. "Yes, I'm sure," she said. "It's just… that was the first time I've ever… um…"

"What?" asked Gar.

"Had an… orgasm," she finished, blushing.

Gar couldn't help letting his eyes go wide with shock and his jaw practically dropped. "That was your first orgasm?" he asked. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," she said, nodding.

"Wait a second, you're telling me your husband never made you climax?" asked Gar.

"No, never," said Raven.

"Oh my God," said Gar in disbelief. "You poor thing! Well, did it feel good? Did you like it?"

"Oh yeah," said Raven, nodding with a smile.

Gar couldn't help laughing. "Good," he said. He lay back down and brought her over to lay with him. He wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on it, her hand lying atop his chest. He kissed her forehead and the two closed their eyes to get some rest.

As Gar lay there many things ran through his mind. He was in shock that her deceased husband had never brought her over the edge. How selfish could the guy be? He never makes her orgasm and then makes her promise to never be with another man. As much as Gar hated him before, he completely loathed him now. And he felt beyond proud and cocky that he was the one to give Raven her first orgasm. That was certainly a job well done in his book.

A few hours later Raven found herself in deep thought as she stood in the shower, hot water cascading down her body to cleanse her. She felt as if she was in some dreamlike state. How could life feel this wonderful? How could her body feel this happy? Such feelings had never seemed within her grasp before. And now they embraced her totally and completely.

She soon finished her shower and stepped out to dry herself off. As she did so she caught herself in the mirror and was shocked. She was… smiling. Not a forced, wide smile like for a picture. Not an amused smile created from hearing a joke. Not even a sarcastic smile, which she was the most used to. A genuine, 'I am happy' smile that so few ever feel or get to show.

She wrapped a robe around her dried off, naked body and exited her bathroom. She found Gar standing near her window in his boxers. He turned upon hearing the bathroom door open and saw her enter. He smiled and turned towards her to which she smiled a bit more and felt her heart flutter upon seeing him.

"You seem refreshed," he said.

"I am," she said, walking over to him.

"Good," said Gar, wrapping his arms lazily around her waist and kissing her. "Rae, are you alright with what we did?"

"Yes," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself close to him.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I mean, I don't wanna leave and then have you call me saying that it was a mistake and that you weren't ready."

"Gar, what's done is done," said Raven. "And I think it was perfect timing. I have no regrets."

Gar felt very relieved and kissed her head, holding her closer and swaying back and forth. But there was still something nagging at the back of his mind, making him feel a bit sick.

"Rae, you do realize that we just did that… without any protection, right?" he said.

"Yes," said Raven. "But I'm not worried."

"You aren't?" he asked, pulling back a little bit so he could see her.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "If I was pregnant, I would know by now."

"You would?" he asked.

"Yes," said Raven. "Some women can just tell when they've conceived. When I became pregnant before I could tell within hours; I just knew."

"And you don't feel any different now?" he asked.

"No," she said. "But I guess that's no sure sign that I'm not. But even if I am, I don't think I'd mind very much. Would you?"

Gar smiled and said, "No. I wouldn't mind." He kissed her again and held her for a little longer.


	20. The Next Step

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 20: The Next Step

A few weeks passed and it was clear that Raven wasn't pregnant. The two decided to use protection from then on to make sure they didn't have any more unsure weeks. But, like they'd agreed upon before, even if she did become pregnant it wouldn't be horrible. They were deeply in love and nothing could ever change that.

Gar found him self very busy as the renovations for the zoo began. He was put in charge of overseeing everything to make sure it was all done according to his plans. Gar had never been in charge of anything before and he found it all a bit overwhelming. Luckily, Raven was used to such situations and he took her on as his assistant of sorts. She was really the one in charge, but she made sure everyone thought it was him. And he was quite happy with the arrangement.

Raven sat on her bed with various papers and folders around her. On her lap she held a pen and a pad of paper containing some key issues that needed to be dealt with. Gar was pacing back and forth, responding to the various questions and concerns Raven was voicing.

"I'm still not sure about having plastic windows as fencing for each of the habitats," said Raven.

"Well I don't want chain link fences," said Gar. "The animals will feel like they're in cages."

"Plastic gets scratched and dirty easily," said Raven. "We'll constantly be sending cleaning crews to touch them up."

"But with plastic people will be able to see the animals better and the animals won't really see them," said Gar.

"And do you really want the animals to be running into them, thinking that they're not there?" asked Raven. "At least with chain link fences they know where they're allowed and where they're not."

"But they're supposed to feel like they're in their natural environment," said Gar. "There's nothing natural about a chain link fence."

"And there's nothing natural about plastic windows either," said Raven argued back.

"Okay, let's skip this for now," said Gar, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "How're we doing financially?"

"Don't worry about that," said Raven.

"Why? Have we already gone over the budget?" he asked, fearfully.

"No," said Raven. "But I don't want you to worry about it. Just focus on creating this perfect zoo of yours."

"Ugh, I don't want to think about it anymore today," he said, falling backwards into her papers and covering his face with his hands. "My head hurts."

"Shall we call it a day then?" asked Raven.

"Please," he pleaded.

"Alright," she said and began putting all of the papers and such away. "What do you want to do now?"

Gar sighed and said, "You wouldn't know how to massage a brain, would you?"

"I'm afraid not," said Raven, placing all of the papers and folders into a box, where she kept everything concerning the zoo. She then crawled over to him and placed his head on her lap. She placed her fingers on his temples and began to rub them in small circles. "But I can try."

"Thank you," he moaned as she tried her best to ease his headache.

"Not used to thinking so much, huh?" Raven said softly.

"No, not really," he chuckled. "I don't wanna do anymore thinking for a while."

Raven leant down and kissed his forehead. "Alright, I think we can manage that," she said. "Do you want some aspirin?"

"No," said Gar. "I just want you." He reached up and brought her back down to him and kissed her.

"I highly doubt this will help with your headache," said Raven.

"Hey, we won't know unless we try," said Gar with a smirk and kissed her again.

"Alright, enough of that," she said, sitting up and crawling off of the bed. "You may not have to think for the rest of the day but was still have things to do."

"Awe, do we have to?" he whined.

"Yes, we have to," said Raven. "I'm certainly not going to Dick and Kori's engagement party by myself."

The two had gotten engaged a week before, to everyone's relief, and now they were having an engagement party at the lounge. Vic was holding it and Raven gave him permission to do what he needed to do with The Gem. She was really starting to entertain the thought of renting her lounge out to private parties. She had received several calls from persons wanting to have parties there.

"Why can't you go by yourself? You're friends with them," said Gar.

"Not very good friends," said Raven. "It'd be pretty awkward if I showed up and not you. Now I'm going to take a shower and get ready. I suggest you do the same."

"Ugh, I don't wanna drive back to my apartment," he complained, rolling onto his stomach.

"Oh would you stop whining?" said Raven. "I can sympathize that you have a headache but I can only take so much of your complaining."

"But I don't wanna go all the way back to my place to get ready and then come all the way back here to get you," said Gar. "I'm tired just thinking about it. I always have to make seven trips whenever I come over here to get stuff I need or to feed my fish and Whiplash. I wish I had like a teleportation device so I wouldn't have to go back and forth so much."

"Well why don't you stop complaining and move in with me or something?" said Raven as she turned her shower on.

Gar lifted his head immediately and wondered if he'd heard her right. "Rae… did you just ask me to move in with you?" he asked.

"If it'll shut you up," she said, standing in the bathroom doorway.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second," he said, leaping up from the bed. "Are you serious? I mean, can I really move in with you?"

"Well… yes… if you really want to," said Raven.

Gar felt like he was in shock. He quickly snapped out of it and lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her. "Yes, I totally want to!" he said and kissed her.

Raven couldn't believe what had just happened in the past minute. Had she really asked him to move in with her? Had he really accepted? They were going to live together now? What had she been thinking?

She pulled him off of her and opened her mouth to take it all back, but then she saw the look on his face. He was beyond happy and excited. He looked as if he'd finally received the gratification he'd been longing for. As if he now knew she loved him and wanted him around all the time. That he was worthy of her love.

Seeing him this joyful she found the fears that had consumed her moments before melt away by the happiness he was exuding. And as he held her she knew that this was meant to be. They were meant to be. She could feel it deep down in her soul. Knowing this soothed her worries and she was very glad for the offer she'd just unknowingly made. She smiled and brought him back in for another kiss.

Now that he knew that he and Raven were taking their relationship to a whole new level he had no problem running back to his apartment to get ready and then come back to get her. Vic, who had run home from the lounge to get a few things, noticed his very happy attitude.

"Hey, man, what's with the smile?" he asked.

"Nothing," said Gar, smiling as if he knew some wonderful secret; which he did. But he and Raven had decided, before he left, that they wouldn't tell anyone yet. Today was for Dick and Kori, after all.

"Yeah, right," said Vic, rolling his eyes. "Come on, ya know I'm gonna find out sooner or later. So spill."

"Sorry, it's between me and Rae," said Gar, checking himself out in the mirror. He'd just recently re-dyed his hair and it looked brilliantly green.

"Ya didn't get her pregnant, did you?" Vic laughed.

"No, not yet," Gar laughed back. "We're not exactly ready to have kids."

"Yeah, I mean, you're not even livin together," said Vic.

Gar was quiet for a moment and smiled to himself. "Nope, we're sure not," he said and grabbed his coat. "I gotta go pick her up. I'll see ya at the lounge."

"'kay, man, see ya there," said Vic.

Gar quickly drove back to Ravens, and soon to be his as well, place to pick her up. As he pulled up the driveway he beeped his horn and she came out to meet him. She was in a nice, simple little black dress that showed off her legs and chest.

"You look great," he said as she got in.

"Thanks," she said, not exactly taking the compliment, but she looked as if she'd rushed to get out the door in the end. He knew this was true when she flipped her mirror down and began putting a soft, light shade of lipstick on. She never wore much makeup, but when it was a special event she put a thin layer on.

"You nervous about meeting all our other friends?" asked Gar.

"A little," said Raven. "But you said that they're all nice, so I should be able to manage."

"Don't worry, they'll love you," said Gar with a smile.

The two soon arrived and found many other people there. They made their way to the happy newly engaged couple and gave them their congratulations. Kori gave them both large hugs, which Raven still wasn't ready for, and thanked them. Then Gar led her through the room to introduce her to his other friends from college.

"…and this is Karen, the only girl to ever get the better of Vic," said Gar.

"Hey!" Vic objected across the room. "I heard that!"

"Just go back to hostin the party Mr. Mechanic," Karen called back. "It's nice to meet ya Raven."

"Pleasure," said Raven, shaking her hand as well.

"And this is Garth," said Gar, not very enthusiastic about introducing him.

Ravens eyes went wide and she immediately blushed upon seeing him. He had shoulder length black hair and dark eyes. He also had a strong chin and a very good build.

"Nice to meet you," he said pleasantly and held his hand out to her.

"N-Nice to meet you too," she said with a shy smile, her heart fluttering as he shook her hand.

Gar saw Raven blushing and growled to himself. Garth had always had this affect on women. Even Kori had flung herself at him when she'd first met him. Gar decided to nip this in the bud and get Garth out of his girlfriend's mind.

"Yeah, well, come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her away from Garth. "There're some more people over there."


	21. The Fight

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 21: The Fight

Vic looked around his apartment and had major flashbacks to the day Gar had moved in. Mainly because there were boxes everywhere. He did his best to step over them and not crush anything, but he could only be so flexible.

"Goddamn, couldn't he have at least stacked 'em?" he grumbled to himself as he walked through the maze of boxes. "_I_ didn't even have this much sh-," he barely got to finish as his foot caught a box and he went stumbling forward, nearly colliding with a wall. He growled and found his footing. "Gar! Would ya stop packin and move some of this outta he- AH!" He screamed as he came face to face with Gar's lovely iguana.

"Are you okay?" asked Raven, coming out from Gar's room with another box in her hands.

"I dunno how ya can put up with him, Rae," said Vic, trying to shoo Whiplash away with a wooden spoon he'd found in one of the many boxes around him.

"Gar, I found your iguana," said Raven.

"Whiplash?" came Gar's voice as he ran out of his room. "There you are!" He ran over to Whiplash and gently took him into his arms. "I was worried about you, buddy."

"Man, I'm _not_ gonna miss that thing," said Vic, relaxing a bit now that the iguana was restrained.

"Come on, what'd he ever do to you?" asked Gar as he rubbed the top of Whiplash's head.

"Other than scare the bejesus outta me everyday?" said Vic.

"Alright, boys, I'm making a trip downstairs," said Raven picking up another box. "I suggest you do the same so we can get out of here."

"What? You don't like hangin with me?" laughed Vic.

"Not when I'm doing heavy lifting and manual labor," said Raven as she struggled to open the door.

"Yeah, princess here isn't used to doing physical work," Gar laughed.

"You know, it's not too late for me to take back my offer," Raven warned.

"Sorry dear," said Gar in a sweet voice. Raven rolled her eyes and shook her head as she left, closing the door a bit harshly. Vic looked to Gar with a worried look. Gar just smiled and said, "Don't worry, dude, she loves me."

"She better," said Vic. "I can't see someone like her puttin up with you if she only liked ya."

"True," said Gar. "Come on, Whiplash, let's get you back in your case. You just wait until we get to your new home. You're gonna have your own room!"

While Gar baby talked to his iguana Vic decided to help Raven and grabbed a few boxes to make a trip downstairs to the car. He made it outside and saw Raven attempting to open her car's door, but was having trouble since she was holding boxes. He quickly ran over to her and opened the door.

"Thanks," she said with a kind smile.

"No problem," said Vic.

"I had no idea someone could own so many items and live in such a small space," said Raven as she loaded the boxes in.

"Yeah, but remember that most of it was on his floor," Vic laughed.

"That's true," said Raven.

"And soon it's gonna be all over _your_ floor," chuckled Vic.

"Like hell it will," said Raven.

"Ah, so you're gonna clean up after him, huh?" said Vic.

"To a certain point, yes," said Raven. "I can understand that he's not exactly a neat and tidy person, and I'll pick up after him to keep my house clean, but he should know that I can only take so much."

"Ya know that ya might hafta spell it out to him though, right?" said Vic.

"Yes, I know," Raven sighed. "But, relationships are all about compromise, or so I hear."

Vic laughed and the two headed back upstairs to grab more of Gar's belongings. As they walked inside Vic nearly tripped over Whiplash who'd escaped once more. The iguana gave Vic's leg a healthy whip with his tail and then hightailed it out of the apartment.

"Ow!" Vic yelped. "You lil bastard! I'm gonna kill you!" He grabbed a broom and went charging out into the hallway after Whiplash.

"No!" Gar cried and quickly went running out after Vic and the iguana. "Vic, if you even touch Whiplash I'll kick your ass!"

"Say what?!" Vic yelled. "You're lizard just fuckin attacked me, man!"

"He was scared!" Gar yelled back.

"He's evil!" Vic screamed.

"Would you two shut the hell up!" one of their neighbors yelled.

"Stay out of it!" the two shouted.

Raven just sighed and went back to packing Gar up. She could do without their fighting about the iguana. She went to his room and saw that most of it was packed up. There were only a few draws left to be packed and she figured she might as well do it.

She opened an empty box and began to fill it with various things from his draw. She knew he'd probably freak out if he found out that she was looking through his things, but she didn't care. She expected guys to have certain things hidden away in their draws. She was a little surprised to see a clapping monkey doll, though. She figured it must have been something from his childhood, or at least she hoped it was, and she threw it in the box.

She then saw a picture frame facing down in the bottom of the draw. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't keep a picture out in the open, since his room had been covered with them. She picked it up and flipped it over to see who it was of. She was quite surprised to see it was a picture of him holding some gorgeous blond girl at sunset.

"Asshole," Gar grumbled as he entered the room. He then looked to Whiplash, who was in his arms again, and said in a baby voice, "You didn't mean it did you?" Gar then looked past Whiplash and saw Raven kneeling on the floor with a picture frame in her hands. He knew exactly which one it was… and paled. "Uh, Rae, what're you doing?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing," said Raven, quickly throwing the picture into the box she was packing. "Just packing the rest of your possessions."

"I coulda done that," said Gar, putting Whiplash into his carrying case this time so he wouldn't get out again.

"I know," said Raven plainly. "I just wanted to finish so we could get out of here."

Gar heard an odd tone in her voice and he knew she must have been upset about finding that photo of him and Tara. Not that she knew what Tara looked like, but he was sure she was smart enough to make the connection.

"You know, I don't even know why I keep that picture," he said.

"What picture?" she said, throwing the rest of his belongings out of the draw and into the box.

"The one you were just holding," said Gar. "I forgot I even had it.

"Uh huh," said Raven, obviously not believing him and trying to hide how much it hurt that he still kept a picture of his ex around.

"You know what?" he said, reaching into the box and grabbing the picture. "I think I'll just throw it out."

"You don't have to," said Raven. "I really don't care."

"You sound like you care," said Gar.

"Well I don't," she said and stood up with the box. "So drop it."

"If you didn't care then you wouldn't be upset," said Gar.

"I'm not upset," she said harshly and left the room with the box.

"Hey, you don't see me getting upset about having to see pictures of you and your _dead husband_ everyday," he said, getting upset with her.

Now, there were few things that truly upset Raven; things that struck a nerve and made her nearly breakdown. And one of those few things was having someone refer to Malchior as her 'dead husband'. He might not have liked her, but she had truly liked him when they were together and even believed she loved him for while. Yes, he'd done terrible things to her and killed her father, not that she liked him very much, but he was her first love. And he had been the father of her child. Calling him her 'dead husband' brought all of those memories back and it always upset her. She dropped the box she was holding and stormed out of his room.

"What?" said Gar as she angrily left. He sighed and ran after her. "What'd I say this time?" But she didn't answer him. She just made her way through the apartment and then left, slamming the door behind her. Gar groaned and went running after her.

Raven flew down the stairs as quickly as she could, not wanting to talk to Gar. As she went she passed Vic who was heading back up with the broom still firmly in his grasp. Apparently Gar hadn't told him he'd found the iguana.

"Rae, ya okay?" asked Vic, but she just pushed past him and continued on her way. "Oh shit, what'd he do now?" He was about to head back up the stairs, but Gar practically jumped over him to get to Raven. Against his better judgment, Vic decided to follow them down and eavesdrop.

Raven made it to her car and took out the boxes that she'd packed in the back. She placed them on the sidewalk just as Gar burst out of the building. She frowned and headed for the driver's side of her car.

"Rae, would you wait a goddamn second?!" he said, angrily.

"I don't want to talk to you right now," she said, steaming.

"God, you're so fucking dramatic!" he said, running his fingers through his hair. "Would you at least tell me what the hell I did? How come you can get all pissed at me but I get just a little upset and you flip out on me?"

"There's a large difference between me being a little concerned about finding out you have a picture of your ex hidden way and you insulting my deceased husband," said Raven.

"Insulting your… I didn't insult him!" said Gar, confused and angry as ever. "Though I could! God, why do you even care? I swear, I think you care more about that dead bastard than me!"

Raven stiffened and tears welled into her eyes. "Do you really think that?" she said practically through her teeth.

"Yes, I do," said Gar, crossing his arms.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Well fine then," Raven spat. "If you can't tell by now that I care more about you than anything else in the world then I don't think I want you living in my house. In fact, I don't think I want you anywhere near me." And with that she got into her car.

"Rae, come on!" Gar shouted, but it was too late. She started her car and quickly drove out of there. He let out a frustrated yell and headed back into the building. And Vic was right there, ready to handle the situation.

"What happened?" he asked as Gar entered.

"Dude, leave me alone," said Gar, continuing to walk and heading for the stairs that led up to their apartment.

"No, I wanna know what the hell happened to make Rae flip out like that," said Vic.

"It's none of your fucking business!" Gar screamed at him and began the long climb up the three floors worth of stairs.

"Gar, I'm ya best friend," said Vic, following him. "Of course it's my business. And I don't wanna see you two break up over something stupid."

"It's not stupid," said Gar. "She found a picture of me and Tara, which I forgot I even had I might add, and got pissed at me. Then I pointed out that I have to look at her fucking dead husband every day when I see her wedding picture and she got even angrier. I mean, is it me? How come she always gets to be the one upset and I can't have any negative feelings at all?"

"Okay, calm down," said Vic. "We can fix this."

"Dude, I don't need your help," said Gar. "If this is how she's gonna be all the time then why the hell do I even bother?"

"Cuz ya love her, man!" said Vic.

"Yeah, well she acts like she loves that dead asshole more than me," said Gar, opening the door that led to their floor.

"Ya know that's not true," said Vic.

"No… I don't," said Gar.


	22. Apologize!

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 22: Apologize!

Gar lay on his barren bed looking up at the ceiling. He was still in a bad mood, but was starting to calm down. It'd been two hours since Raven had stormed out of there after finding a picture of Tara hidden away in the bottom of his draw. He immediately threw away the offending picture and lay down on his bed. He still felt that she was completely overreacting and that he was the one wronged. So he decided he'd wait until she called him to apologize. But, at the moment, he was really wondering if he could put up with her harsh mood swings.

Vic knocked on his door and entered. "Hey, man," he said in a soft voice. It was clear he wanted to keep Gar calm so that he and Raven could repair the damage that had been done two hours before. "How ya doin?"

"Fine, I guess," said Gar, continuing to stare up at the ceiling.

"Ready to talk yet?" asked Vic, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe.

"There's nothing to talk about," said Gar, shrugging. "I'm never gonna mean as much to her as that asshole does and we both know it."

"Oh, and ya think she doesn't feel the same exact way 'bout finding out you've kept a picture of Tara around?" asked Vic.

"I told her I forgot I even had it but she didn't believe me," said Gar.

"And I'm sure if she told you that she forgot she even kept that picture of her and Malchior out you'd totally believe her," said Vic sarcastically.

"Dude, it's not the same," said Gar, sitting up.

"Man, it's totally the same!" said Vic. "You haven't even thought about Tara since you and Rae hooked up, right? Don't ya think it's the same thing with her thinkin about Malchior?"

"Then why'd she get so pissed at me when I said I had to look at him everyday?" said Gar. "I mean, she shoulda said that she forgot about the picture, just like I did. But, no, instead she totally flips out on me."

"Well, what exactly did ya say?" asked Vic.

"She was upset about finding that picture of me and Tara and I said that she didn't see me getting upset about seeing pictures of her and her dead husband everyday," said Gar. "Then she dropped the box she was holding and ran out of here."

"Hmm… maybe she doesn't like you referring to him as her dead husband," said Vic, thinking.

"What should she care?" asked Gar. "He's dead; out of her life."

"Yeah, but he was a big part of her life, Gar," said Vic.

"But it was in the past!" said Gar.

"Not everyone can just forget about the past and look to the future like you, man!" said Vic. "Especially not someone like Raven Roth. We warned ya about this in the begginin, remember? We told ya she had baggage. Why're ya actin like this is all new news to you?"

"Because it's never been a problem until now," said Gar.

"Well I think ya should call her up and apologize," said Vic.

"Nope, no way," said Gar, shaking his head. "I'm not the one who should be apologizing here."

"It doesn't matter!" said Vic. "No matter whose fault it is, as long as you apologize you two can start talking and can fix this."

"I don't care," said Gar. "If she wants to fix this then she can call me and apologize."

"God, you're so fucking stubborn," Vic groaned. "Fine, ruin the best thing you've ever had and probably will ever have. All I know is that no matter what you say, it's probably your fault."

"Just get the fuck out," said Gar, collapsing back onto his bed.

"Whatever, man," said Vic, exiting and closing the door behind him.

For a while Gar lay there, thinking about all Vic had said. As calm as he'd gotten he was just as riled up again. He wasn't going to call Raven up and apologize; he had his pride. Sure, there wasn't much of it, but it was there, damn it! He was going to wait for Raven to call him. He was sure she was going to call within the hour.

But she didn't call him that hour. Nor the next hour. Or that day at all. Gar found himself having to go through his boxed up belongings to get things he needed. He knew he should probably just unpack since Raven didn't want him living with her anymore, but something compelled him not to.

Another day passed and still he received no call from Raven. Vic pleaded with him to call her, to make the first move, but he refused. He wasn't going to cave in. But, oh, how he wanted to. He wanted to know how she was. If she really was that angry at him. What had he done? That was what he wanted to know the most. What had he done or said to make her that upset? Wasn't he the one who should have been upset? He was so confused he didn't even care anymore. He just wanted her to call so they could talk this out.

On the third day he sat on his still bare bed with his phone resting on his lap. He also had his cell phone right next to him. If she was going to contact him it was going to be on one of those two phones. He looked quite pathetic and he felt the same.

Where was she? Was she okay? Did something happen to her when she drove home? What if she'd been in an accident? What if she was hurt and in a coma and he didn't know?! He shook his head and tried to clear these exaggerated thoughts from his brain. Why did he always jump to worst case scenarios? He had to learn to stop doing that.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He picked up his phone and dialed her number. He would never tell Vic that he was doing this, but he couldn't wait any longer. He dialed her home phone and waited. It rang and rang; but she didn't answer. He decided to try her work phone, which sat right next to her home phone on the kitchen counter. Again, it rang and rang but was never answered. Growing very worried and suddenly feeling like he was on a mission he called each of her phones, glad he had all of their numbers.

After trying for an hour he was not only worried sick but frustrated as well. He was going to have to drive over there to make sure she was still alive. Maybe Sam the guard could at least give him some information on her. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

"Where're you headin off to?" asked Vic.

"I'm going to Rae's," he said.

"She called?" asked Vic.

"No, but I tried calling her like forty times and she's not answering any of her phones so I'm going over there to make sure she's alright," said Gar.

"Maybe she has caller ID and doesn't want to talk to you," said Vic.

"I don't care, I gotta make sure she's okay," said Gar, exiting the apartment. Vic smiled to himself. He knew Gar would crack sooner or later.

Gar knew he was probably making an idiot out of himself by going over, but he didn't care. If she was there and not answering because she knew it was him he was going to flip out on her for making him worry. And if she was in some sort of trouble he was going to at least look like a hero by going over to make sure she was alright.

He pulled up to her gate and saw Sam sitting in his little hut. He was given a little light of hope when Sam opened the gates, as he usually did. He found it odd though when he waved him to pull over to his hut. He did as the guard asked, not wanting to upset anyone else, and pulled over.

"Hey Sam," said Gar.

"Hello Mr. Logan," said Sam. "I haven't seen you in a few days and I was getting concerned."

"I know, I haven't spoken to Raven in a while," said Gar. "I was worried about her."

"Well thank God you came," said Sam. Gar felt sick for a moment. "She hasn't left the house for three days."

"Is she okay?" he asked.

"Not sure," said Sam. "All I know is that she hasn't been answering any phone calls and I've gotten many calls asking where she is."

"You mean she hasn't even talked to you?" asked Gar. "Dude, she could be dead in there!"

"No, she's talked to me everyday," said Sam so he could calm Gar down. "She's told me not to let anyone in other than the pizza delivery guy. Seems all she's eaten is pizza. I haven't seen her like this in a very long time."

"Oh jeez," said Gar, running his fingers through his hair. "Well, can I at least go in?"

"If I wasn't gonna let you do you think I would have opened the gate for you?" asked Sam with a smirk. "Whether she wants to see you or not, I think you're the only one who can make her feel better."

"You could lose your job for this!" said Gar.

"Maybe, but I think Ms. Roth would forgive me and hire me back," said Sam, shrugging. "I've known her for a long time, Mr. Logan, and she trusts my judgment."

Gar smiled and said, "Well, thanks."

"No problem," said Sam. "Good luck."

"Again, thanks," said Gar and he drove the rest of the way up the driveway.

He quickly parked and ran up to the door. He rang the doorbell and knocked a few times, waiting for an answer. He was only going to give her so long to answer before he used the key Raven had given him to get in. He was glad that she was alright and not in a coma, but he still needed some answers. And he wanted to see just how upset she was.

After waiting for an entire minute he tried the door and found it to be locked. He pulled his key out and quickly unlocked it. He entered and looked around. Everything looked alright. But then he saw something he never thought he'd see. Dust. He saw a thin layer of dust lying on her precious items that were on display. Raven always dusted everyday, no matter what. Something must have been wrong.

"Raven?" he called, his voice echoing through the large, empty house. He didn't hear anything. Not a reply, not even the sound of someone hiding away so as to not be found. He sighed and decided to head upstairs and look in her bedroom. If she was upset that's where he expected to find her.

He was surprised to see her room's door was closed. He went up to it and softly turned the knob, opening it slowly and looking inside. Sure enough, he saw her curled up on her bed. Relieved to have finally seen her again he went in.

"Raven?" he said, softly.

She jumped and quickly looked over to her door. She sat up, shocked to see him. He, himself, was shocked to see that she looked as if she'd been crying. And for a moment or two they just regarded each other in silence. Finally, Raven broke the silence.

"What… What are you doing here?" her voice shaking.

"I was… worried," said Gar. "I tried calling you today and you didn't answer."

"Well… I'm fine," she said, covering the fact that she was sniffling.

"Oh," said Gar. "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to talk this out."

"Now? You want to talk now?" she said with a bite in her voice. "Gar, if you really wanted to talk about this you would've called three days ago."

"I was waiting for you to call!" said Gar. "I totally want to talk about this. I just… I don't know." He sighed and walked over to her, taking a seat on her bed. "Rae… what the hell happened? Why did you flip out on me like that?"

Raven sighed. "I don't like it when you bring Malchior up," she said. "And I especially don't like it when you refer to him as my 'dead husband'."

"Is that what this is all about?" asked Gar. "That I brought up the fact that I have to see him everyday in your wedding picture?"

"No, it was the way you worded it," said Raven. "And then you insinuated that I loved him more than I love you. How could you possibly think that?"

"Well… if you don't love him then how come you keep his pictures out?" asked Gar.

"I'd forgotten they were even around," said Raven. "I never look at them."

"Well it's the same thing with that picture you found of me and Tara," said Gar. "I threw it in the bottom of my draw when I moved in with Vic and forgot about it."

"Really?" asked Raven, openly sniffing now and grabbing some tissues.

"Yeah," said Gar, taking her hand. "And I threw it away the second you left."

"You did?" asked Raven.

He nodded and moved closer to her, placing one of his hands on her tears streaked cheek. "Of course I did," said Gar in a soft voice. "Why would I wanna keep it?"

Raven sighed and gave him a small smile. "I threw away my wedding picture," she said looking deep into his green eyes. "And any other picture I had with him in it."

"You did?" said Gar, looking deep into her blue violet eyes. She bit her lip and nodded. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her as close to him as he could. It felt so good to hold her again. "So… does that mean you'll let me move in?"

"Depends," said Raven. "Do I have to pack anymore of your belongings?"

Gar laughed and said, "No."


	23. Can He Wait Six Months?

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans and Please Do Not Review Until End of Fic**

Chapter 23: Can He Wait Six Months?

He loved it. He loved the feel of her. Her naked body pressed up against his. It was the greatest feeling he'd ever experienced. Sometimes she'd lay against him right after they'd made love, panting and coated with the sweat he'd made her break out in. Sometimes they'd be in the pool and he'd talk her into skinny dipping just so he could hold her bare body close to him under the water. And sometimes he'd wake up in the morning and find her standing in the light of her window, overlooking her acres of private land.

And that was how he'd found her this morning as he'd opened his eyes. She stood there in only a silk robe, the morning light illuminating her pale skin and making her look as angelic as he believed her to be. He knew she was thinking; thinking of what he wasn't sure, but she was thinking. She always seemed to be in deep thought in the morning. She was in deep thought all the time, but her deepest thoughts came to her in the early morning.

He slowly and quietly slipped out from under the covers wearing nothing but the dye in his hair. He made his way over to her and gently placed both of his hands on her shoulders. She barely moved at all as he slipped her robe down and off of her, tossing it away. She was used to it by now. Once she was as bare as he, he wrapped his arms around her and brought her close; her naked back pressed to his naked chest.

Raven wasn't exactly sure why Gar liked to hold her this way. Even though they were naked there was nothing sexual about it. He just liked to hold her close for as long as he could. Sometimes she would allow him to hold her for hours. They would lie in bed and she would drift in and out of sleep while he held her. And she loved it. She loved it just as much as he.

"Don't you have to get ready for work?" she asked softly as he held her naked body in the warmth of the morning sunlight that poured in through the window.

"Yes," he sighed.

"Why do you sound so sad?" asked Raven. "You love going to work."

"I do, but it's hard when it means I have to leave you," said Gar.

"I think I'm becoming your obsession," said Raven. She turned towards him so they were now chest to chest. "Promise me that's not happening."

"Why?" asked Gar, running his fingers through her dark hair.

"Because people who obsess over anything always turn out to be crazy," said Raven. "So, please, don't obsess over me."

"Alright, then, I won't," said Gar with a smile, leaning in and kissing her softly. "But, can I at the very least be infatuated with you?"

Raven gave a slight chuckle and said, "Yes, but only because you were able to use a five syllable word in a sentence. And correctly, I might add."

Gar laughed and pressed his lips to hers once more. He kissed her deeply and held her even closer to his body. He loved how Raven always seemed to go limp when he held her this way and kissed her; like he was able to take all her energy through her lips.

He led her back over to their bed and lay her down upon it, laying himself upon her. His lips that had been soft and sweet moments before became hungry and blistering. He kissed her neck and shoulders, running his hand down her thigh.

"Gar, not now," said Raven, trying to hide the fact that she desperately wanted him to take her again. "You have to go to work."

"Work can wait," said Gar, slipping his hand to her inner thigh and caressing it, trying to spread her legs for him.

"Please, I don't want you to get in trouble for being late," said Raven, grabbing his caressing hand. "I promise, we can continue this tonight."

Gar stopped his kisses and said, "But I'm not coming home till late."

"I know," said Raven.

"And I can't promise I'll be sober," said Gar. "I mean, when Me, Vic, and Dick have a boys' night out we tend to get kinda trashed."

"I've noticed," said Raven. "Now get going."

"But, I mean, I know it usually takes a while, but I'll only be like a half an hour late," he said with a grin.

"Alright, don't get cocky there Mr. Fantastic Lover," said Raven, pushing him off of her. "Now go get ready."

"Fine," Gar groaned and crawled off of the bed. "But, if you'll excuse me, I have to go take a cold shower first. Unless, you'd like to join me?"

"No thanks," said Raven, slipping her robe back on. "I'm going to have some tea."

"Awe, you're no fun," Gar pouted.

"I never said I was," said Raven and with that she left for the kitchen.

Once Gar had taken his cold shower and gotten dressed he was off to the zoo. Even though he was in charge of renovating it and all, he still kept his position leading tour groups around. At the moment they were redoing the primate section, so the group wouldn't get to see them, but Gar still told them all about the animals they weren't getting to see.

After work he quickly ran home to change. And, after being refused by Raven again, he headed out to meet his buddies. The three met at a local bar to catch up on what was going on.

"So, Kori go over the wedding budget yet?" asked Vic, taking a sip of his beer.

"Oh, you have no idea," Dick shuddered and took a sip of his beer as well. "She's planning on flying everyone from her country over."

"Come on, dude, that can't be true," Gar laughed.

"You'd be surprised," said Dick. "She wants everything completely traditional."

"Man, what'd ya think was gonna happen?" asked Vic. "She loves her heritage."

"I know, and as much as I want to make her happy and give her the wedding of her dreams, I don't think I can afford it," said Dick. "At this point I'm going to be dipping into our dream house account."

"How's that going?" asked Gar.

"Eh, I doubt we'll be moving anytime soon," said Dick.

"Why don't ya ask your father for some money?" asked Vic.

"He's not my father, for the hundredth time," said Dick. "And the last thing I'm going to do is ask him for anything."

"Fine, whatever, it was just a suggestion," said Vic.

"Too bad you couldn't have found someone who already has a house, like me," said Gar, smugly.

"Speaking of which, how're you and Raven doing?" asked Dick.

"Awesome," said Gar with a smile. "And I know we're getting serious because she's started refusing to sleep with me."

"So… ya sex life isn't doing so good?" asked Vic.

"No, it's great," said Gar, taking a sip of his beer. "It's just, I wanted to do it this morning and she said that I should go to work instead so I wasn't late."

"Well that just sounds like she doesn't want you to get in trouble at work," said Dick.

"Yeah, man, just cuz she said no this morning doesn't mean she'll say no tonight," said Vic.

"Well, she did say that we could do it when I got home," said Gar. "So… does this mean we're not that serious?"

"Trust me, you're plenty serious," said Vic, patting Gar on the back.

"Yeah, I mean, you two are living together," said Dick. "Hell, you're practically married."

"I know, I can't wait until I get to actually marry her," said Gar. "How long do I have to wait, again, until I can propose?"

"_She's_ gotta be the one to throw the idea around," said Vic. "She's still vulnerable and ya could still scare her away."

"Besides, I forbid you to get engaged before I get married," said Dick.

"Excuse me?" Gar laughed.

"I agree, man, one engaged couple at a time," said Vic.

"Fine," said Gar. "When're you getting married anyway?"

"Six months," said Dick.

"Six months?!" said Gar. "I've gotta wait six months?!"

"Trust me, it's a good thing," said Vic. "Six months'll give ya a good, solid relationship with Rae. You'll know if ya really wanna marry her then."

"But I wanna marry her now!" said Gar.

"You might think you do, but after you go through some holidays and arguments you'll really know," said Dick.

"Whatever," said Gar taking another sip of his beer. "I know what I know."

A few hours later the three finished up their boy's night out and headed back home. Gar felt a little buzzed, but he made sure not to drink too much. He wanted to have some fun with Raven before going to bed. He hadn't disappointed her in the bedroom yet and he wasn't about to let it happen due to some beer being in his system.

As he entered the mansion he noticed that it was all dark. He guessed she must have been in bed. It wasn't really all that late, but he knew sometimes she liked to go to bed early. He knew just about everything about her. He headed upstairs and as he walked down the hallway to their room he noticed something… odd. He saw that the nursery light was on and the door was closed.

He softly turned the knob and opened the door. He was surprised to see Raven in her robe passed out in the rocking chair, a book on her lap. He had never seen this before. He went to her and took the book off of her lap and set it aside. He placed his arms under and around her, scooping her up. She moaned for a moment and slowly awoke.

"What's going on?" she asked, confused.

"You were asleep in the rocking chair," said Gar, heading out of the nursery. "I'm gonna take you to bed."

"Oh," said Raven, relaxing. "Okay then."

He took her to their room and lay her down on the bed, disrobing her. He decided he wasn't going to push her for sex tonight. She was obviously tired and he wouldn't mind going to sleep either. He stripped down to his usual sleeping attire and slid into bed with her.

"How was your boys' night out?" asked Raven, cuddling up next to him.

"Good," said Gar, kissing her forehead. "You just read tonight?"

"Pretty much," she said.

"Can I ask why you were reading in the nursery?" he asked, beginning to rub her lower back in small circles.

"I like to read in there," she said in her tired state.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I've always loved being in there."

"Oh," said Gar. "I didn't know that."

"I know," said Raven, snuggling in closer to him. "I didn't tell you because I thought you'd think I was weird."

Gar let out a soft chuckle and kissed her. "You don't have to worry about being weird around me," he said. She smiled in return and settled in to sleep while he continued to rub her back.

But Gar wasn't ready to sleep yet. He had a few things to think about. He thought about finding Raven in the nursery and how she'd said she loved being in there. Was that really where she did her reading when she was alone? She must have felt pretty comfortable in there to read for hours on end. But why the nursery, of all places? She had dozens of rooms in the mansion and this was where she chose to read? Not in the larger than life library, or the patio she had in the back which had taken him a while to find, or one of the parlors. No, she chose the nursery. Why?

And then it hit him. As many times as he'd tried to get it through his head that she'd once been pregnant, it never seemed to sink it; until now. Raven _had_ been excited about her child. She had wanted to have a baby. And she still did. Raven wanted a baby.

Gar looked at his lover as she slept. After finally putting two and two together he couldn't help but look at her differently. She had given him everything he'd ever wanted and beyond. And what had he given her other than his love? Nothing. But that was because she never asked for anything or acted like she needed anything. Except this.

He might not have been a genius when it came to many things, other than animals, but he did know a few things for sure. Someday he was going to marry Raven Roth and someday he was going to have children with her. Why did someday have to be so far away?

"Raven?" he said, awaking her.

"Yes?" she asked, half asleep and slightly startled from being awake.

He pressed his forehead to hers and asked softly, "Will you marry me?"

Raven opened her eyes and looked deep into his. She had never seen his face so serious or his eyes so full of love. She softly smiled and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Yes."

**The End**

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